Harry Potter and the Bonds of Hearts
by Sailor J-chanDuoxHilde 4ever
Summary: After a Death Eater attack, Petunia reveals her secrets, ex: a stirring spoon that does magic and an impossible old romance. Meanwhile, the Second War is starting and traitors are on both sides. Someone has a terrible secret. Multiple couples. Ch. 12 up!
1. The Attack

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

The Attack

* * *

Harry stared at the letter in his hands. It was from the Wizarding Examination Authority. These were his O.W.L grades, the ones he had been waiting a month for.

How appropriate that they came on the day before his 16th birthday. Nice early birthday gift.

His eyes scanned the letter again.

* * *

Dear Harry James Potter, 

Enclosed, please find your Ordinary Wizarding Levels results.

Astronomy: Theory-E. Practical-P. Overall: A. Ability to Continue Course: Permitted.

Care of Magical Creatures: Theory-O. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Charms: Theory-O. Practical-E. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Defense Against The Dark Arts: Theory-O. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Divination: Theory-T. Practical-T. Overall: T. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Herbology: Theory-O. Practical-E. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

History of Magic: Theory/Practical-T. Overall-T. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Potions: Theory-A. Practical-E. Overall-E. Ability to Continue Course: Not permitted.

Transfiguration: Theory-E. Practical-O. Overall-O. Ability to Continue Course: Strongly Advised.

Your complete student average is E. Good luck in your next year of Hogwarts.

Sincerely,

Professor Griselda Marchbanks

Head of Wizarding Education Authority

* * *

Harry still couldn't believe he had managed to land an E in Potions. He could only assume he had some friends in high places, even though it wasn't enough to land him a spot in the N.E.W.T class. Apart from that, he wasn't quite surprised with the grades he got, especially in Defense Against The Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures.

Suddenly, he thought of how Sirius would've reacted upon seeing his report card. He would've shrugged off History of Magic and Divination, calling them the two most useless divisions of magic. He would've commended Harry as a chip of the old block, landing an O in Transfiguration, which was what James was known for, and another O in Charms, which was Lily's best subject. He would've laughed about Harry putting one over on Snape, attaining a pass but not attending his class either. He would've been so proud of Harry's Overall E.

He thought of the Durselys, eating dinner downstairs. Vernon would be drinking and spluttering about his company, Petunia would be right across the table, eyes shining and nodding her bony head up and down until she bore a hole in her collar bone, and Dudley would be eating everything, even right off his mother's plate.

These people he had lived with for 15 years. When had they ever shown the kind of interest in his life that Sirius had, the man that Harry had accused of killing his parents the instant he met him? When had Petunia, Lily's own blood sister, shown the kind of concern that Sirius, an outsider from a pro-Voldemort family, had showered him with? Why did he have to live here year after year, when he could have gone with Sirius? Maybe he would've realized that Sirius had not been in any danger; that he hadn't needed to go to the Department of Mysteries.

He knew the reason. Life here kept him alive. Because of Petunia, he was still alive. Voldemort wouldn't dare come near here. Voldemort could only kill him physically, as in beating him to death. He still couldn't kill him magically, as long as Petunia was alive.

Harry turned his eyes to the other letter. This one was from Minerva McGonagall.

* * *

Dear Harry James Potter, 

Enclosed, please find your list of school books for your 6th year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, according to the O.W.L result you received. Kindly send a list of classes that you are willing to pursue to Hogwarts.

Also, due to the current world situation, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions have become mandatory classes, regardless of O.W.L. results.

The list is as follows:

Reading The Stars by Andromeda Tonks

Lifestyles of Fantastic Creatures by Philip Wolfgang

Practical and Extraordinary Charms by Grace Meir

Defensive and Offensive Magic by Osbourn Bailey

Salts of the Earth by Jasmine Noam

Moste Potente Potions by Thorpe Everett

Shape-Shifting of Magical Objects by Julia Grant

* * *

Harry reread the list. Moste Potente Potions, eh? He wondered if they'd be brewing some Polyjuice Potion. God knows that he, Hermione, and Ron would pass Potions this year. All of them, even Ron, had practically memorized that book.

He looked at the author of his Astronomy book. Andromeda Tonks. Nymphadora's mother and Sirius's favorite cousin.

He might as well take it, he thought, just out of respect for Sirius. After all, Sirius's entire family was named after stars. It really wasn't surprising that Andromeda had written a book about it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud hoot from Hedwig and the furious beating of wings. He whirled around in the tattered, revolving chair he had inherited from Dudley to see another owl practically breaking the glass at his window.

"Pigwidgeon?" he said out loud, recognizing Ron's owl. He unlatched his window and allowed the breathless owl to flop into his room.

He took the letter from the slot on Pigwidgeon's ankle. It was a Howler. As he wondered what he possibly could've done wrong, he noticed a dark red splotch on it, different than the color of the Howler. It looked like blood.

His stomach dropped out as he tore open the letter. Hermione's panic-stricken voice yelled:

"Harry, get away from there now! The Death Eaters are coming to kill your aunt! They found the Order's HQ and blew it apart, but they got Sirius's mother's portrait to tell them were you are first! Get your family and run NOW, or you'll all be dead! They'll get here right after Pigwidgeon does! GO! NOW!!"

Harry shoved the letter in his pocket and immediately went for Hedwig.

"Hedwig, take Pig and get to Diagon Alley. Don't leave once you get there."

Hedwig clipped her beak. She floated across the room, picked Pig up by the back with her talons, and soared out the open window. She disappeared into the night.

He snatched up his wand, muttering "_Accio _Broomstick! _Accio_ Cloak! _Accio_ photo album!"

Once the Firebolt, that Invisibility Cloak, and photo album of his family were in his hand, he muttered a shrinking charm and shoved them all in his pocket. He swiped his two letters and shoved them in his other pocket.

Then he ran.

He thundered down the stairs, nearly tripping as he took them two at a time. He rounded the banister, through the living room, and burst into the kitchen.

"What are you doing, boy?" Vernon snapped, seeing him come in. "Thought you weren't hungry! Well, it's too late if you want food now."

"It's Voldemort!" Harry yelled.

All talk ceased. Petunia stared at him, her eyes nearly falling out of her head. Only she and Harry among the four in this house knew what Voldemort truly meant. Her mind was flashing to the letter Dumbledore had left her.

__

Your sister is dead…as long as you're alive, Harry will live…

"He's sent his followers! They know where we are, and they're going to kill Aunt Petunia to get to me!"

Vernon only understood "kill Aunt Petunia". He stood up, his chair falling backwards. "Get out, boy! Your freaky kind won't kill my wife!"

"Vernon, you don't understand!" Petunia yelled suddenly. "If Harry leaves my side, he'll die!"

"And the world's better off without him!" Vernon yelled, masking his surprise at Petunia's outburst.

"Look, if you won't do it for me, then I suppose you might want to do it for the fact that Voldemort's supporters have absolutely no problem in killing all of you!" Harry exploded. "They'll think it's nice practice to kill a couple of Muggles!"

At this, Petunia let out a terrified squeak. "Vernon, Dudley, you two run. I'll take Harry and get away from here!"

"No!" Vernon was turning purple. "Let the boy run alone, I won't risk having you—"

"I'M NOT LETTING HARRY DIE!!"

There was absolute silence, as Harry, Vernon, and Dudley stared at Petunia. Instead of looking ashamed or horrified, there was an air of determined control about her that none of the men wanted to defy.

"Vernon, Dudley, get out of this house now. Go to Marge's." she said. "Harry, you're coming with me."

There was a loud explosion just outside. The glass in the living room shattered.

"Quickly! Now!"

She spun around to the counter and grabbed something. And without a further glance in her son and husband's direction, she sped around the table and grabbed Harry's arm. She gave him a sharp tug that knocked the wind out of him and sped out the back door.

She stopped in the middle of the backyard and turned to face Harry.

"Your broomstick," she said shortly. "Get it out."

"How'd you know—"

"I'm not stupid and neither are you. I know you have it, and I recognize a shrinking charm."

"How—"

"Never mind that now, boy. Just get it out."

Harry fumbled in his jeans pocket for the shape of the Firebolt. He finally felt bristles, like those on a toothbrush, and pulled it out. He held the mini-broom by the stick and muttered the Engorgement Charm. It immediately expanded into its normal size.

"Did Dumbledore give you that Invisibility Cloak of your father's? And don't even bother asking how I know, just answer me."

"Yes."

"Get it out." Harry felt around for a piece of cloth, pulled it out, and enlarged it.

"Get on the broom."

Harry positioned himself on the broom, and felt the weight of his aunt as she settled herself behind him. She grabbed and edge of the Invisibility Clock and threw it over herself as Harry tugged his end over his own head.

"Now, go."

Harry braced his feet on the ground and went to kick off.

Nothing.

"Harry!" Petunia screeched.

He turned around. Holding onto the tail of the Firebolt, the only visible part, was a Death Eater. He couldn't see who it was, since his face was covered, but he had a sinking suspicion it was Lucius Malfoy.

Petunia grabbed up what she had taken from the counter. To Harry's amazement, it was a wooden stirring spoon.

'Oh my God,' he thought wildly. 'Does she honestly believe she can scare off—'

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Harry was once again wrenched from his thoughts as the Death Eater suddenly froze up. Even his eyes were still behind the slits in his mask.

Petunia kicked him off the broom and he fell with a thud onto the lawn. Petunia turned back to Harry.

"What are you waiting for, fool?! GO! NOW!"

Too amazed to say anything, Harry kicked off from the ground and the Firebolt, seemingly unaware of the extra weight, took off from the Dursely's backyard.

Loud explosions and terrified screams were heard behind them, but neither of them looked back as they disappeared into the night sky clouds.


	2. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer-Read the first one

* * *

Diagon Alley

* * *

Petunia was silent on the flight, and Harry couldn't seem to open his mouth to ask questions. Petunia had a death grip on her spoon.

Harry remembered the Hagrid hid his snapped wand in his umbrella and used it for everyday things like charming his house or opening Diagon Alley. But when had Aunt Petunia ever had a wand?

"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly.

"Diagon Alley," Harry said, without thinking. "I sent Hedwig there. We're meeting with Fred and George."

"Who?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, you never bothered to find out who they are," Harry said bitterly. Petunia didn't answer. "They're my best friend's older twin brothers. You know, the ones who left the candy for Dudley, that made his tongue grow?"

"Oh…oh, yes, I remember," she said, and then muttered something. Harry couldn't hear all that she said, but he thought he heard "James" and "Sirius" thrown in there.

He supposed she was making yet another insult to his dead father and didn't say anything, just urged the Firebolt on faster.

* * *

Harry touched down in London just in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He muttered the shrinking charm from earlier and stuffed his broom in his pocket.

The Leaky Cauldron was padlocked closed. Swearing under his breath, he pointed his wand and whispered, "_Alohomora_!"

A stream of yellow light emitted from his wand, and the padlock fell open.

He shoved open the door and ran to the back, Petunia following him. He emerged from the pub and into the courtyard.

As Petunia shut the door behind her, Harry tapped the brick that would allow them entrance into Diagon Alley.

As the bricks moved away, Harry thought sourly that usually this was a welcome sight, the sprawling street lined with shops, bursting with activity.

Now, it seemed unusually closed-in and quiet. It seemed almost…dead.

"Harry!" someone screeched.

He turned to look to a shop, where he heard the voice. Hobbling out of the doorway, using a stick for a crutch, a bandage around her forehead, was Hermione Granger.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, running towards her.

"Hermione, don't!" someone yelled, and he saw George come out. He, as Harry thankfully noticed, was perfectly fine. "You can't run around just after this!"

Hermione ignored George's call as she continued to run to Harry. He caught her mid-way by the arms.

"Hermione, what happened?" he asked.

"Oh, Harry!" she wailed, and flung her arms around him, throwing her crutch aside. She burst into tears on his shirt. "You're safe! You're safe!"

"I'm fine, Hermione, I'm okay," Harry said soothingly, as she continued weeping into his chest.

"The Death Eaters…they found HQ…and they…they…" She was unable to finish.

George finally caught up with them. "Harry, get inside. Fred's in there, taking care of everyone else. Hermione, come on love, get back inside."

"No!" she yelled, and clung tighter to Harry. "Not without Harry!"

"Hermione, he's coming with us," George said patiently.

Hermione looked up at Harry, her face tear-streaked and her eyes bloodshot. "Harry, stay with me, please, don't leave me…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Hermione," Harry said comfortingly, squeezing her.

"Come on, get inside," George said, leading Harry, Hermione, and Petunia towards the shop he had run after Hermione from. A large, red sign was painted above the door, reading: "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes".

But inside, all the practical joke paraphernalia was locked up in glass cabinet, and all around the floor were bodies. Some were unconscious, some were moaning in their sleep, and others were wide awake, biting their lips so as to not scream.

"Harry!" a raspy voice whispered, and Harry turned to see Ron leaning against the corner.

"Ron!" he yelled, starting for him.

"Harry, no!" someone yelled, and Fred suddenly appeared. "Ron's bleeding internally, you might make it worse!"

"Fred, what happened? Why is everyone hurt?!" Harry demanded.

Fred sighed and magicked up three chairs. "Sit down, all three of you."

Harry sat down in one. Hermione, still clinging to his torso, sat in the other and leaned over onto him. Petunia took the last one.

"George and I were over here, waiting for news from Mum about an Order meeting. We couldn't go; too risky. But instead we get Errol, with a Howler saying that the Death Eaters attacked Grimmauld Place and that the old hag, Sirius's mum, told them where you live, and that Death Eaters were going to attack yours and Hermione's house. You know, kill off as many Order members as possible."

"So we went to Grimmauld to get back whoever was there," George cut in. "By the time we got everyone back, your owl and Pig had come. But there was no note, so we thought…we thought…"

Fred cleared his throat. "That's what we know."

"Harry, it was…it was awful!" Hermione yelled. "The Death Eaters came to my house…they…they killed my mum and dad…and they tried to get information out of me…like where Tonks and Moody are…I wouldn't tell them…they tried to kill me, they thought they did…" She shuddered violently.

"Hermione's house was set up to the Floo Network, so she got to us that way," George said. "She told us she'd sent a Howler to you from upstairs, while downstairs…they were…"

"THEY KILLED MY PARENTS!" Hermione shrieked. Harry held her tighter as her sobs grew stronger and wilder.

"What happened at your end?" Fred asked.

"Pig showed up with Hermione's Howler," Harry said. "I sent Hedwig and Pig to you guys. I went downstairs to warn my relatives. I don't know where my uncle and cousin are. But my aunt here came with me. A Death Eater—I think it was Lucius Malfoy—tried to stop us but sh—he got petrified." He had almost said "she petrified him". "I took the Firebolt to get us here."

"Good," Fred said. "Now, if we can get owls to the other Order members…thank God not everyone was there."

"W-who was there?" Harry asked. "Who—who di—" he couldn't bring himself to ask who had died.

The twins knew what he was saying. "Well, there were Hermione's parents," Fred said. "And I'm sure we're all glad to know Kreacher bit the big one."

"Harry, they killed Bill," Hermione said. "And Percy."

"Percy? What was he—?"

"Apologizing," Fred said shortly. "He was about to when they attacked…he fought them. One of them tried to _use Avada Kedavra_ on Mum—and he took it for her."

"Percy, my baby, my little perfect Percy," a small voice said in the back. Harry could see Molly sitting against the far wall, her arms held as if she were cradling a baby. "My Bill, my big, strong Bill."

"Mum's regressed 23 years," George said. "She won't accept it. She thinks that they're just a babies."

A small sniffling sound was heard. Harry's eyes glanced over. Petunia looked like she was barely controlling herself. A lone thought, "Why?", wandered across Harry's otherwise blank mind.

"They seemed to want to torture us first. You know, build their egos before they kill us. Well, as for injuries, Dad's hurt bad and Mum…well, you've seen her," Fred said. "Ron's bleeding horribly and Ginny…we're not sure if she's going to make it."

"Why aren't you taking them to St. Mungo's?!" Harry yelled.

"Too dangerous," George said. "Death Eaters could be watching the Floo Network. They just might decide to finish us off now. We have some blood-stopping potions we learned in school for Ron and Ginny, but we don't know if it'll help Ginny. Dad's got a lot of broken bones and some spell damage. And Mum…there's nothing physically wrong with her, she's just mad with grief."

"Does St. Mungo's have a Floo connection?" Petunia asked suddenly.

"Yeah, but we told you, it's too risky."

"Use Harry's Invisibility Cloak," Petunia said breezily, as if she were discussing weather.

Fred looked at her. "Aren't you Harry's aunt, that old hag who made him sleep in a cupboard?"

"That's Petunia Dursely to you," Petunia said, with a sniff.

"Petunia?!" Molly exclaimed from the wall. She still sounded dazed. "Petunia Evans?! My word, how time flies! Remember me? Molly Caleb?"

"Yes, Molly, I remember you," Petunia said, and her voice was kind, like when she was giving Dudley sweets.

"Aunt Petunia, just how—"

"Not the time, Harry," Petunia said. "Get your Cloak."

Harry fished his Cloak from his pocket and enlarged it.

"Right, now, we'll take Ron first. You two, get him here," she said to Fred and George. "There we go…easy does it…"

Fred and George managed to get a wincing Ron to stand up. Harry threw his cloak to the twins, who wrapped it around their brother and themselves.

"Come back with the Cloak!" Petunia said, as the three went for the fireplace.

"We're not stupid, Mrs. Dursely," Fred said, and the three disappeared in a flash of green flame as George yelled "St. Mungo's Hospital!" Soon, Fred and George reappeared with the Cloak.

It went like that for everyone else. Molly went peaceably, still cradling the imaginary baby. Arthur was hard to stand up, and he groaned horribly as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Ginny was absolutely heartbreaking to carry, her almost 15-year-old body tiny and limp in Fred's arms, blood running down her forehead.

"Hermione, it's time to go," Petunia said.

"Harry, stay with me," Hermione begged.

"I'm not going anywhere else," Harry said, as Petunia spread the cloak around herself, Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George, and were transported to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.


	3. St Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies...

Disclaimer-Read the first one

* * *

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

* * *

Harry threw off the Invisibility Cloak as he heard the bustle of a hospital. Hermione was still clinging to his torso.

He jogged towards the receptionist's counter, Hermione limping on her good leg.

"Miss!" Harry yelled, stopping in front of the counter. "Miss, my friend, she needs to get to the fourth floor."

"Another for the fourth floor!" the witch said, indignant. "We've had quite a time of it, getting enough stretchers! What have you been doing?"

"You don't wanna know," Harry said, as two floating witches carried a stretcher into the lobby.

"Harry, please don't leave me, I don't wanna be alone, Harry, please!" Hermione begged.

"Hermione, Hermione, listen, listen. Shhh." He shook her gently. "I'm going to stay in St. Mungo's. I promise I will not leave this building. And I'll see you as soon as I can. All right?"

"Promise me?"

"On my mother's grave," Harry said.

Hermione's eye filled with tears. "All…all right."

She allowed the two witches to help her on the stretcher, and then she disappeared behind the revolving doors.

"She fancies you, apparently," Petunia said quietly.

Harry whipped around. "And you! You, with your magical stirring spoon and you knowing about the Floo Network and you saying you won't let them kill me! What are you playing at?!"

"Harry, shut up, don't cause a disturbance!"

"That's all I ever do, isn't it?! Cause a disturbance! I've been a nuisance to you since you took me in! If you hated me that much, why didn't you just throw me out?!"

"Harry, I don't hate you."

"Yeah? Well, you've done a pretty good impersonation of it these past 15 years!"

Petunia opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone! I hate you!"

There was complete silence. Petunia stared at Harry with wide, flabbergasted eyes and he stared back at her, his green eyes cold with fury and hate.

__

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone! I hate you!"

"Petunia, come on, honey, just go back to your dorm, Amelia will look after you—"

"No! Stay away from me! I never want to see you again!"

"Petunia!"

"GO AWAY!"

"Do you want to know why my stirring spoon did magic, Harry?" Petunia asked quietly.

Harry didn't say anything, just stared at her with cold hatred.

"Because, Harry, like Lily, I am…a witch."

"I was wondering if you were ever going to tell him, Petunia," an old, raspy voice said from nowhere.

"Dumbledore!" Harry and Petunia yelped as one.

"How'd you get here?" Harry demanded.

"Fred sent me an owl," Dumbledore said. "I arrived as soon as Alastor Moody would let me go."

"Moody's been with you?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Dumbledore turned his eyes to Petunia. "Now, Petunia, I believe you were about to give Harry an epiphany."

"Yes, sir," Petunia said. She turned back to face Harry.

"I don't know why you both are messing with me like this, but I'm not going to put up with—"

"Shut up, Harry, and give me two minutes," Petunia said, with such force that Harry did shut up. "My stirring spoon did magic because my old wand is the stem. I threw out everything wizardesque when I left Hogwarts except my wand. I thought I might need it."

"You told me that you were never magical, and you would've killed yourself if you were!"

"I lied, Harry. I've been lying to you since you were dropped on my doorstep." Petunia grimaced. "I never wanted to do magic again after I left Hogwarts."

"Wait, wait, just hold on," Harry said. "Go back to Hogwarts."

"My mother and father were Squibs, Harry, but Lily and I were both sent letters. We're twins, which I'm sure you never knew, so we started our first year together. She, Amelia Bones, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance, Hestia and Diana Jones, Alice Gunther, Molly Caleb, and I were the best of friends, and inseparable. Molly Caleb is your friend Ron's mother, Alice Gunther married Frank Longbottom, and Diana Jones married some Apollo Lovegood person, I believe. Emmeline and Hestia were together, but I don't know what came out of it. All of us were so close, it was scary."

"Well, if you had such a wonderful time then, why'd you leave?" Harry shot at her.

Petunia winced. "There were—circumstances, ones that I couldn't get past, so I left the school at the end of 7th year. Lily wanted me to stay, so we wound up having a huge argument. I told her she didn't understand, and if she wasn't going to understand, she wouldn't be my sister. I left it like that with her. I didn't watch her graduate, I didn't go to her wedding, and I wasn't there when you were born. She wrote to me, but I never wrote back."

"And what were these "circumstances" that made you disown my mother?" Harry asked angrily.

"That, Harry, is not your business," Petunia said stiffly.

"Oh, and you going to Hogwarts wasn't my business?!"

"I told you, I gave up magic when I left. I found a man who was as unlike magic as possible and married him, had his child, and settled down. The last I ever heard of Lily was the letter Dumbledore left me when you were brought to my door."

"Letter? What letter?" Harry looked suspiciously from Dumbledore to Petunia.

"I wrote a letter to your aunt and uncle, explaining what had happened," Dumbledore said. "In the letter, I asked that she take you in for your own protection, as I explained to you in June. I also told her that Lily had listed her as the godmother."

"Even though I hadn't spoken to her for years," Petunia said wistfully.

"And what about what you've been putting me through?" Harry yelled. "You and Dudley and Uncle Vernon, you've been practically ABUSING me for 15 years!"

"That…that I have no excuses for. Just an explanation. You were a reminder of the circumstances that I left the school because of, and the reminder of the sister I disowned. I suppose I thought…if I could make you hurt…my hurt would go away."

"THAT'S—"

"I know that's no excuse, and I swear I'm not proud of what I've done. The number of times I could hear Lily yelling at me for it!"

"And Uncle Vernon? Doe he know about this?"

"No, and neither does Dudley. I wouldn't dream of telling either of them."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something to her, but turned to Dumbledore. "And you didn't tell me this because?"

"It was your aunt's decision. And, up until now, it wasn't relevant."

"What do you mean, "up until now"?"

"Well, seeing as Petunia has used magic, she will have to return to Hogwarts and finish out her education."

"WHAT?!" Harry shrieked.

"In that letter I left, I held Petunia to a promise. If she ever used magic again, she would need to become a fully-fledged witch again. Knowing her reasons, I told her to use magic only in the most dire situations."

"Like Voldemort's return," Harry said slowly.

"Yes, and we need all the help we can get. Petunia wrote back, swearing to that promise. That's an unbreakable charm."

"Like so many other things," Harry muttered.

"Harry, I know this is a lot to swallow—"

"Yeah, it is. Listen, I'm just going up to the top floor, okay? I want to think."

"I understand."

"Send Fred or George up to tell me when everyone wakes up, all right?"

"Of course."

* * *

Harry wandered aimlessly around the gift shop, looking at the bright, cheery colors. But his mind was once again within himself.

'My aunt's a witch. My aunt's a witch,' he kept saying in his head. 'She's been bashing magic for 15 years, but she's been a witch all along—'

"Hello! Can I help you!" a bright, bubbly voice said.

Harry looked up to face a witch slightly taller than himself. She had long, black hair, a friendly smile that held some mystery and mischeif despite her obvious many years, and absolutely sparkling blue eyes, sapphire in color and diamond in shine.

"Hello! Can I help you!" she repeated, in the exact same tone.

"Um, no thanks."

"Hello! Can I help you!"

"Oleta!"

Another witch came out from a different aisle. "Oleta, don't bother customers, dear. Here, go look after aisle 12."

"Okay!" Oleta bounced away.

"Poor, poor Oleta," the witch said, shaking her head. She seemed unaware that she was talking. "She was a Ravenclaw in her day, I hear, a brilliant mind. Could've been in Gryffindor, too, she was brave enough. She was one of the best teachers at Hogwarts ever, too. Well, she must've been brave and smart, to make a good match with old Dumbledore."

"WHAT?!"

"You didn't know?" the witch said, looking appalled. "Albus Dumbledore and Oleta Clark. They were practically joined at the hip in their Hogwarts years. And when they were teaching, too, always subbing for the other when one was sick. Oh, it's such a shame. You-Know-Who got her one day. Used an Unforgivable on her, but Dumbledore got there before he could kill her and drove him away. But poor Oleta, her mind was damaged. She lives here now, and we let her roam the gift shop since she's harmless. Dumbledore's always here in the summer—except for lately. Must have to do with You-Know-Who, now that he's back." There was a loud crash. "Oh, Oleta!" The witch ran towards the sound. "Oleta, don't touch anything!" She disappeared.

Harry stared. Oleta had had those same blank, confused eyes that Frank and Alice Longbottom had, albeit they were still beautiful. Oleta must have been here for over a decade and a half, seeing as she wasn't in the picture Moody had shown him. Imagine, Albus Dumbledore's wife, a brilliant Ravenclaw, roaming in St. Mungo's gift shop, not knowing where or even who she was!

'That must be why Dumbledore always looks so sad,' Harry thought suddenly, thinking that Dumbledore's face was always long and drawn, even when he smiled. 'And why he hates Voldemort so much."

Harry felt another rush of anger. Voldemort was the cause of all this, Voldemort was why he didn't have parents, Voldemort was why Hermione didn't have parents, Voldemort was why Oleta Dumbledore and the Longbottoms were here, Vodemort was why the family he loved best was suffering on the 4th floor, Voldemort was the cause of almost everything.

If Voldemort had been there right then, Harry would have throttled him.

"Hey, Harry!" someone called, and he looked up to see George standing at the hall.

Harry's stomach dissolved. "Are they—?"

"No! No one's dead! Ron and Dad are pulling through just fine, and Mum's slowly coming back to reality."

"What about Ginny and Hermione?"

"I don't know about Ginny yet, but Hermione's all right. She's awake and says she wants to see you."

"I'm there," Harry said, running after George as he made his way back towards the stairs.


	4. New Loves and Old Flames

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

New Loves and Old Flames

* * *

"It's a little disappointing, Petunia, to see Harry now," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Professor, I—" Petunia started.

"I understand your reasons, Petunia. It was a terrible thing to have happened to you. What Lucius and Narcissa did was unforgivable."

"It wasn't just Malfoy. It was…it was him, too."

"But he didn't—"

"He led me to them. He laughed. But I guess I'm a hypocrite. I stood by and watched Vernon abuse Harry and did nothing…and I joined in, too. So I guess I'm worse."

Dumbledore was very quiet. "I won't deny facts, Petunia. But, while we're on the subject of—"

"Please don't say his name. Ever again," Petunia added, with a touch of anger.

"All right. While we're on the subject of "him", you should know that he's in league with us now, so you may end up seeing him again."

Her eyes widened. "Professor, I can't do that. I can't see him again."

"You must, Petunia. Unless you want yours, and Harry's, lives to end, you must."

"I…I can't."

"You must."

"I know. I…know…"

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed weakly.

"Hi, Hermes," Harry said, using the nickname she had forbidden him to ever use.

"I'd throw a pillow at you if I had the energy," Hermione said. "How's Ron?"

"He's not awake yet."

Hermione sighed a very deep, sorrowful sigh. "Harry, sit with me, please."

Harry obediently went forward and sat next to her. She dropped her head against his side, her arms hugging his stomach.

"We're a pair of orphans now, Harry," she said. "And God knows how many of our friends will join us…or how many we'll lose."

"Don't think about it, Hermes," he said.

"I try not to, and then I think of my parents and it comes around full circle. You were at least lucky in one way. You didn't know they were being killed while you waited upstairs."

"Hermione—"

"I heard them, Harry. I heard them screaming. It was like how you are when Dementors are nearby."

Harry remembered, with a sudden chill, the Dementors roaming around him, remembered the heart-shattering shrieks as Lily cried for James and pleaded for Harry at the same time. He wrapped one arm around Hermione and squeezed her.

"My mother…her name was Demi…saw who they were. The Death Eaters who killed them. I heard her shriek just before she died."

"Who were they?"

"Aaron and Belicia Granger. My mother and father."

"What?"

"Harry, my parents aren't my real parents. Aaron Granger is my biological father, my dad's brother. Aaron and Belicia went to Hogwarts, but Paul Granger, my uncle, was a Squib, and his wife was a Muggle. Aaron and Paul hated each other and never spoke. Aaron and Belicia took up with Voldemort when he first came to power, and they ran a campaign against Squibs and Muggles. My grandmother asked Dumbledore to hide my aunt and uncle, so they weren't killed. Your parents were their Secret-Keepers. They were all in the Order together. Paul and Demi could look for Dark Magic in Muggle places easier than the others could."

She paused. "A little more than a year before you brought down Voldemort, my biological parents had me, but I can't remember living with them. My earlist memory is the early November after my 1st birthday, when Hagrid brought me to live with Paul and Demi. They knew that I would probably be a witch, so they raised me to become one."

She paused again. "I found out about Aaron and Belicia when I was 10, when I found my birth certificate on accident. Ever wonder why I've worked so hard to be so perfect? To prove to Paul and Demi that I'm not like Aaron and Belicia. My aunt and uncle were my parents. I refuse to have parents that are Death Eaters. So I guess I'm an orphan now."

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "How opposite are our circumstances? Your parents were Order members and mine were Death Eaters. We were both given to an aunt and uncle. Mine loved me, yours hated you. And yet, we are both orphans now."

Harry was trying to register all that Hermione had told him. "Why did you never say anything to Ron and me?"

"If Lily and James were Death Eaters, would you have said anything? I didn't want anyone to know. I wouldn't even tell Malfoy, to get him to shut up about me being a Mudblood. If Aaron and Belicia were my alternatives, I'd prefer to be that way. Harry, after they killed my aunt and uncle I went downstairs. I screamed at them; told them I knew about everything that they'd done and if they dreamed I'd join them, they were sadly deluded. Belicia tried to kill me, but her _Avada Kedavra_ was pretty weak. She was just recently busted out of Azkaban, so she wouldn't have had much practice with a wand, now would she? She did knock me out, though."

"How could she…how can a mother try to kill her own child?"

"Death Eaters don't care about other lives anymore. You saw how Bellatrix killed Sirius, her own cousin, and the only thing she was upset about was failing Voldemort. Aaron and Belicia were the same way. Power turns people's heads, Harry. Death Eaters have hearts hard enough to cut diamonds. Why should a trivial thing like a daughter or a brother mean anything to them?" Silent tears poured down her face. "I'll kill them, Harry. I'll even use _Avada Kedavra_ if I have to, I'll kill them for what they've done—"

"Hermione, don't get worked up, you'll hurt yourself!"

"I don't care! They killed my mum and dad!" she screeched. She started to thrash about violently. "AND I WILL KILL THEM!"

Harry's mind was flying. Hermione was going to hurt herself if she kept up like this. Frantically, he did the only thing he could think of.

He grabbed Hermione's face and planted his lips against hers.

She immediately stopped thrashing, and her entire body went rigid. Harry's heart was thumping wildly against his ribs. She was going to hurt him so bad when he pulled away.

She didn't moved for two agonizingly slow seconds, and then her arms flung themselves around him and held him closer.

They stayed like that for 30 seconds, and then Harry pulled back. He was gasping for breath and amazed at himself, and her.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly. "What was that?"

"You were hurting yourself…I had to stop you." he stammered.

"Did you enjoy it?"

His voice failed him. He looked at her with confused, pleading eyes.

"Of course not, how could you enjoy a kiss from someone born of filth? I should've just kept my mouth shut. No one except Draco could ever love the child of Death Eaters. Well, I'm sorry you had to endure it, Harry. Terribly sor—"

She was cut off as Harry kissed her again.

This time, Hermione pulled back. She stared at Harry, in shock.

"Of course I enjoyed it. A 30-second kiss for no reason isn't my bag."

"Harry, I—" Hermione started. "I enjoyed it, too."

She smiled, though tears were still in her eyes. "This is good. This is very good."

She leaned in against Harry's side, and he wrapped his arm around her. He didn't feel guilty at all. Hermione and Viktor had broken up not long ago, because, according to Hermione, he was practically dating his own broomstick. And Cho was slowly dwindling in his memory.

"Harry."

"Yeah, Hermes?"

"Promise me you won't die. Promise me you won't leave me like my parents did."

He planted a kiss on top of her head. "I won't."

* * *

"Where's Ronald? Where is he?"

Luna Lovegood burst into the lobby. The attack at 12 Grimmauld Place was all over the Muggle news. Even if the house was hidden, explosions were not easily swept under the rug.

Luna knew that Grimmauld was the site of the Order's HQ, as her father had joined recently, and she knew that the Weasleys were a part of it.

She had immediately thought of Ron, and she had panicked. She had begged and begged until her father agreed to Apparate her to St. Mungo's. She had nearly cried with gratitude when he did.

The Welcome Witch stared at her. "Miss, if you don't mind, this is a hospital."

"I need to see Ronald Weasley!" she yelped.

The witch scanned the list on her clipboard. "I'm afraid he's in a delicate condition and can see no one until his Healer says he can."

"What happened?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information. Kindly take a seat, and I will call you when he wakes up."

Luna turned away, almost crying. She was imagining all sorts of terrible things that could possibly have happened to him. He was lying on the ground, his entrails leaking out…he was hanging from the ceiling, bleeding…and yelling "Luna, Luna!"

"Hey, you. You're Loony Lovegood, aren't you?"

Luna turned. "I'm Luna Diana Artemis Cynthia Selena Gwendolyn Lovegood," she said, indignantly, facing Fred and George Weasley. "And you are Frederick Isaac and George Edward Weasley. Ronald Rupert Weasley's brothers. How is he?

"He's not awake yet, but we think he's holding up," George.

"That's good." Relief at this news allowed her back her dreamy expression. Idly, she imagined being the first one there when he woke up. She blushed and giggled, making Fred and George look at each other with confused expressions.

Well used to this, Luna positively floated to the nearest chair and sat down, letting herself daydream.

* * *

"They're almost here," Dumbledore said, standing up.

"Who is?" Petunia asked.

"The Order."

"You contacted all of them?" Petunia asked, aghast. "Even—"

"Yes, even him."

"How could you?!"

But before Dumbledore could answer, the body of Remus Lupin tumbled out the hospital's fireplace. Petunia looked positively relieved that he had come out first.

The Last Marauder, however, did not look thrilled at all. He looked dead nervous.

"Who was hurt? Your letter was vague," he said directly at Dumbledore.

"Hermione Granger, Ron, Ginny, Molly, and Arthur Weasley," Dumbledore said.

"And Harry?"

"He escaped uninjured."

"That's good to hear," a new, younger, female voice said, as Nymphadora Tonks followed Remus. Dumbledore's quick eyes saw Tonks's hand lightly graze Remus's own, and he sent a sharp glance to Remus. He had been picking up frequencies that Remus and Tonks were romantically involved, even though she was considerably younger, but he had no proof. In any case, they both seemed happy, so he'd decided not to press. Remus wasn't the kind to use and abuse younger girls, anyway.

From the doorway walked Luna's father, Apollo Lovegood. He immediately went to his daughter, who hugged him and said, "He's all right, Daddy."

Following them was the ever-growling, ever-eye-twitching Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. He glanced at Petunia without so much as a nod, and then turned back to Dumbledore. "Who's dead?"

"Bill and Percy Weasley, and Paul and Demi Granger."

"The Grangers?" Moody growled. "Who did it? Don't tell me it was those devils Aaron and Belicia Granger."

"It seems likely."

Petunia stopped listening to their conversation, as there was a PUFF from the fireplace. She turned quickly, and her eyes widened as she saw who it was.

"You," she said, quietly and darkly.

She reared back her palm and slapped him clear across the face.

"Aunt Petunia!"

Petunia turned quickly to see Harry, staring incredulously, his mouth hanging open. He had just left Hermione's room, seeing as she was tired and the nurse was yelling at him to let her sleep.

"Oh, yes, I should introduced you." She turned back to the red-faced man. "This is my nephew, Harry Potter. Harry, meet my ex-boyfriend." She said the name bitterly, as if she had just swallowed Skelo-Gro.

"Severus Snape."


	5. The Traitors

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

The Traitors

* * *

There were very few times when Harry did not have a response to something, but it happened. Now was one of those times.

His eyes flashed back and forth from Petunia to Snape. There was his aunt, standing there with cold fury in her eyes, and Snape, who again was expressionless, though his face was slowly gaining more red in color.

"I-I'm sorry, but I need to go hurl now," he finally said.

"God, what has he done to anger You? Is there some sin we know naught of?" Fred muttered.

"Shut up, Weasley," Snape said. "And trust me, Potter, the idea that she is your relative sickens me as well."

"Really. I thought it was my dirty blood that sickened you," Petunia snapped.

Harry suddenly felt newfound respect for his aunt as she stood there, yelling at Snape like that.

"While I'm sure this is very important to you both, we have something else to discuss before you can return to your…falling out," Dumbledore said placidly. Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance were entering the building.

"Yes, sir," Petunia muttered, and Snape nodded.

As Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mundungus Flecher, and Strugis Podmore joined the circle, Dumbledore spoke. Harry, who was outside the circle, strained to hear.

"As you know, 12 Grimmauld Place was attacked earlier this evening. You also know that we removed the Fidelius Charm, because we need to be able to acquire new recruits and besides, I trusted all of you. Only we, Harry, and the Weasley children knew the location of our headquarters. My sole question is, how did the Death Eaters find out?"

"But that would mean—" Remus started.

"Someone betrayed our whereabouts. Someone among us…is a Death Eater spy."

Harry's eyes immediately flickered to Snape, and he saw Petunia do the same thing. He focused on her.

Her eyes remained locked on Snape's face, looking for a twitch of muscle or a gleam in his eyes that would mark him as the spy. She saw a grimace. She chewed the inside of her bottom lip and turned back to Dumbledore.

"I don't want it to have been any of us," Dumbledore said. "But apparently, my trust has been betrayed. It is the only explanation."

There was complete silence. Tonks moved in closer to Remus.

"I ask, most likely futilely, that the person who betrayed us come forward."

There was no movement, except the flicker of accusing and furious eyes.

"I see." He paused. "All of you are skilled Occlumenses, so to search your minds would be useless. So I adjourn this meeting. And, I'm sad to say, you will all be watched."

Nobody moved for a moment.

"And now, I must attend to socks."

A confused look swept over the Order's faces. "Socks"?!

Dumbledore nodded his head good-bye and turned, making towards the double doors that would lead him upstairs.

To where Oleta was.

A dim memory ignited in Harry's brain. When Dumbledore had found him looking into the Mirror of Erised, he had asked what Dumbledore saw. He had answered "Socks".

Maybe it was a metaphor, or a nickname for Oleta!

"Professor, wait!" Harry called. "I think I know something—about socks."

Even more confused eyes turned to him, but he ignored them and chased after the retreating headmaster.

* * *

"I must give you credit. You have a knack finding out about things you shouldn't," Dumbledore said. "So tell me, Harry, how did you come across my wife?"

"I was wandering around the gift shop and I kinda ran into her. Some lady told me your story."

"Must have been that gossipmonger nurse of hers," Dumbledore, but he didn't sound angry. "I suppose you know why she is here, as well?"

"Yes. He got her—Voldemort did."

Dumbledore was silent for a good length of stair-climbing, but he spoke again. "I met her in 1937, in our third year, at a Hogsmeade trip at the end of June. She was knitting socks for house-elves. Oleta was very much the forerunner of your friend Hermione Granger. Anyway, I called her Socks because of that. I suppose you could say we hit it off directly. We were Head Boy and Girl together in our 7th year. However, she had a boyfriend. I did not like him at all, and with good reason. He sole desire was to have his way and then leave her. He did, and he left her pregnant, too. Harry, Oleta's surname was McGonagall. You can fathom who her daughter is."

"You mean...Professor McGonagall..."

"Yes, Harry, Minerva is my stepdaughter. Well, as it went, I joined the Allies in the Second World War. We courted when I came home on furlough, and after I defeated Grindelwald in 1945, I came home and married her. In September of that year we both returned to teach at Hogwarts. I taught Transfiguration and she taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. We both taught Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, as he is more commonly known now. Oleta always had a bad feeling about him."

Harry's head was spinning. McGonagall was Dumbledore's stepdaughter and his wife had taught Voldemort.

"She and I founded the Order together when Voldemort rose to power in the late 1970's. However, in 1987, Voldemort discovered where we were hidden and attacked. Only she was home. He…tortured her, trying to get information on me. She was one of the first people ever to resist the Imperious Curse. She told him nothing. He was about to kill her when I returned and forced him off."

He fell silent. Harry tried to imagine the aftermath of that attack.

"Someone betrayed us," Dumbledore said suddenly.

"Betcha it was Wormtail," Harry said bitterly, remembering his own hatred of the name. Wormtail had been partly responsible for James, Lily, and even Sirius's deaths, his own friends. What qualms would he have about killing the headmaster's wife?

"Perhaps it was. So, Harry." He stopped abruptly. "I have noticed that you and Miss Hermione Granger have gotten several degrees closer since your first year. Please heed my advice; don't let anyone get to her. Don't let anyone hurt her. You will regret it for the rest of your life."

Dumbledore started walking again, faster. Harry stood, dumbstruck.

He imagined Hermione wandering aimlessly around St. Mungo's, repeating herself. That thought was near impossible to reach and completely impossible to bear. He forced the thought from his mind and continued after Dumbledore.

He stopped at the double doors, and peered in through the foggy glass, not wanting to get any closer. It would upset Dumbledore.

He pressed his face close to the glass, trying to hear. Dumbledore and Oleta were facing each other.

"It's Albus, Oleta."

Oleta frowned. "I don't know Albus. I don't know Albus."

"You know me, Oleta."

Oleta started crying. "I don't know Albus! I DON'T KNOW ALBUS!!"

"Sir, please, you're upsetting her," an aide said frantically. "Let us calm her down, and then we'll try to introduce you again. She usually has some inkling as to who you are; maybe we can get her to remember this time."

"I'll return soon," Dumbledore said, and quickly turned away. He headed towards a different set of staircases, but as he passed by the door he had come through he said, clearly:

"There are things much, much worse than death, Harry."

And then he hurried on.


	6. Inseparable

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

Inseparable

* * *

It was a silent train ride to Hogwarts that September.

As per usual, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together, except now Harry and Hermione sat on one bench, fingers interlaced and her head on his shoulder.

Ron's mouth had fallen open when they told him they were together now, but then he grinned. "Knew it. Knew you two would get together. Always did."

Ginny sat with them as well, curled into an almost fetal position against the wall. Her injuries were healing, but she had to be handled delicately lest she reopen her wounds. Her parents hadn't wanted her to go back to school, but she'd insisted that she didn't want to miss 5th year, especially because this was her O.W.L year, and after much begging, they had allowed her.

Arthur and Molly were recovering as well, but you had to be careful with Molly. Any mention of her dead sons would lead her to regression, especially after the 4-part funeral they'd had. Her eyes would glaze over and she would talk as if they were still babies, but you could see tears running down her face. Fleur Delacour could often be found hanging about the Burrow now, as she and Bill had been quite serious about each other. The French girl tagged around Molly, helping her with chores and holding her hand when Molly cried.

Arthur was about the same as Ginny, wound-wise. He wasn't quite as depressed as Molly, but you could see him sitting quietly, looking at his son's baby pictures with tears leaking from his eyes.

Luna sat with them as well, reading The Quibbler, but this time, right-side up. She was holding her wand between her teeth and moving it with her tongue. Her earrings were at least normal, just sapphire studs, the jewelry of choice for Ravenclaw girls. Harry was still surprised to know that his mother and aunt had been friends with her mother and aunt.

And the thought of Petunia and Snape together was still almost incomprehensible.

And Neville sat with them, too, looking enviously at Harry and Hermione's hands every once in a while, but then turning and talking to Ginny.

"Harry? You all right?"

He had been staring out the window. He turned his head to get a good view of Hermione's curls.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Snape and my aunt."

"I feel ya," Ron said. "Imagine, if your aunt had stayed together with him, Snape would be your uncle! That, my friend, is the stuff of horror movies."

"Maybe he'd at least have liked me better."

"Do you think that you'll have to continue doubling with the Slytherins in Potions?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, someone seems to want us to always double with them," Harry said.

"Bet Pansy and Malfoy will be doing more than just potions in that class," Ron said, snickering. His voice turned falsetto. ""Oh, Draco, I just love to watch you handle the potions"!" His voice returned to normal. "Scarlet woman."

"Are you still saying that?" Hermione giggled.

"I think it's a good phrase," Luna said, lowering her magazine.

Hermione shrugged. Since losing her parents she wasn't such a stickler for perfection. Crookshanks leapt into her lap and she stroked him idly.

"Hey, Muddy-Bloodies!"

"Speak of the devil," Hermione muttered.

Their compartment door slid open and there, once again, stood Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe, but this time they were backed by Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and another Slytherin girl they didn't recognize.

"Heard you got attacked, Granger," Draco said. "Too bad you made it."

"Y'know, you really need to learn some new insults, Malfoy," Harry said absent-mindedly, twirling a strand of Hermione's hair with his finger.

Draco ignored him. "I heard about your parents, too. Oh, excuse me, both sets of them. I can't believe you passed up a chance at being a real witch for a Squib and a Muggle!"

Harry felt Hermione's hand go rigid. He squeezed it, trying to instill some clam into it.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Demi Granger are dead, and as I was saying to Crabbe, the world's better off without them—"

"_Lastimasay_!"

Both Draco and Pansy screamed as painful, red welt marks began to appear all over Draco's body. Pansy started crying hysterically. "What did you do, Mudblood!?" she screeched at Hermione, as Draco fell to the floor, nearly screaming as loud as Pansy.

"Just a little Pain Curse. Don't worry, it's not permanent. I'd get in trouble if it was." Hermione put her wand back in her robes. "Ginny, if you please."

"No problem, Hermione." Ginny took out her own wand and gave it a little wave.

Bats were suddenly flying around the Slytherins's heads. Millicent screamed and ran away, but the other girl had been long gone. Crabbe and Goyle were left trying to fight off the bats and Pansy was shielding a moaning Draco.

"The Bat-Bogey Hex. I must say, it's one of my better inventions," Ginny said, grinning, as she waved more bats from her wand.

"It's your only invention, sis," Ron said.

"Hmm. True."

Pansy found her wand and pointed it at Hermione. The bats disappeared. "You're going to pay for that!"

Harry dug out his wand and brandished it threateningly. "Just try it, Parkinson; you'll see what happens."

"Oh, isn't that sweet. A knight and his fair lady. Two blood traitors, so perfect for each other!" she sneered.

"Well, it's six wands against three, Pansy dear, seeing as there's only you, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco left, and I don't think Draco's up to cursing us," Hermione said. "I'd suggest you just walk away and save yourself a lot of grief."

Pansy brought her wand down in a swoop…and then collapsed on the floor, her legs wriggling uncontrollably.

"Oh, Pansy, I loved you in Lord of the Dance!" Ron laughed, twirling his wand between his fingers.

"Lord of the Dance!" Luna hooted.

Ron stared at her, not quite sure what to make of that.

Luna shrugged, looking embarrassed. "It was funny."

Goyle managed to grab the squirming Pansy and pull her out of the car, while Crabbe grabbed Malfoy's hand and dragged him away.

"And good riddance," Ron said viciously, slamming the compartment door. He plopped back down on his seat, grinning. "Jelly-Legs. Always there when you need it."

Luna smiled at him.

"This is a good year to be giving Malfoy his just desserts," Ron continued, ignoring Luna.

"Y'know, it's amazing how we've changed," Harry said after a short pause. "Remember our first day? None of us would've been brave enough to use those hexes on Malfoy."

"Yeah, Hermione probably wouldn't have noticed he was making fun of her. She'd be reading Hogwarts, A History for the 600th time," Ron said, smiling.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, then snuggled her head against Harry's shoulder. "We barely knew each other, and now Harry and I are dating."

"I kept losing my toad," Neville said. "I think I've got a good grip on it now." He held up a carrier, where Trevor the toad was sitting quite serenely.

"And poor little Ginny was crying because she couldn't go to school with the great Harry Potter," Ron said. "Now she's going out with Dean Thomas."

"Not anymore," Ginny said. "Didn't I tell you? Dean and Parvati are going out."

"Well, that's good. You don't need a boyfriend."

"Colin's been writing to me, though," Ginny said. "I decided to abandon older boys. They're all insecure. Why not go for someone my own age?"

Ron was struggling with himself; it was obvious to everyone who saw it. He finally managed to force a painful smile. "That's nice."

"And Luna wouldn't even be talking to us," Ginny continued. "She'd be siting in her own compartment, reading The Quibbler out loud to herself."

Luna put down the magazine and laid it beside her. "Well, maybe I should talk more." She was looking directly at Ron.

"We've all seen stuff we shouldn't have," Hermione said. "Do you think that if we hadn't been so keen on protecting the Sorcerer's Stone, things would've been different?"

"Yeah, we'd all be dead," Harry said. "Voldemort would've gotten his body back then and killed us all once he got a wand in his hand."

Ron, who had jumped a little at the name, said, "I nearly got killed anyway, playing on that chessboard. Let me tell you, being knocked in the head by a chess piece is not a pleasant experience."

Luna snickered, a little louder than was usual.

"I had such a huge crush on you then, Harry," Hermione said. "Remember what I said? "You're a great wizard, Harry". And you still are."

"Well, it's not just a crush now, is it?" Ginny asked coyly, grinning.

"No, I suppose not," Hermione said, squeezing Harry's hand.

Harry hung onto her hand. The thought of Oleta Dumbledore was still fresh in his mind.

"We're here," Ginny said, looking out the window. The castle was slowly getting bigger in view.

* * *

Hogwarts was a center of bad memories for them, but it still felt like home. After all, it was here that they had found their best friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends; where they had been growing into fine wizards and witches; where they had been and still were building their lives.

As they got off the train, Hermione gave a tiny start and said, "Hey, I never asked you guys about your O.W.L. grades."

"I got O's in Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Herbology, and Transfiguration. E in Potions, A in Astronomy, and T's in History of Magic and Divination. An overall E student," Harry said.

"I got O's in Defense Against The Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. E's in Charms, Herbology, and Transfiguration, and I can only thank God for Transfiguration. A's in Potions and Astronomy, a D in History of Magic, and a T in Divination," Ron answered. "Overall A student. Let me guess what you got, Hermione."

"O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, O, and don't forget, an O," Harry and Ron said unanimously.

Hermione blushed. I'll have you know that I only got 10 O's."

"Hermione, you only take 10 classes!" Ron yelped.

"We had to tack on another O, for the grade you would've gotten if you'd stayed with Muggle Studies," Harry explained.

"And what if I'd stayed in Divination?"

"U for Unexplainable Phenomenon," Ron said.

"Firs' years, firs' years! Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Hagrid swept into their path. "Good ter see yeh!"

"Same here, Hagrid," Harry said, smiling up at his enormous friend.

"Hermione." He clamped his hand on her shoulder. "I heard abou' yer folks."

"Everyone has, it seems," she said coolly, thinking of Draco.

"I lost me dad, too. It's been a long time, bu' it still hurts ter think abou' him. I'm sure Harry and the Weasley's un'nerstan' the feelin'. Yeh just don' let yerself wallow in it, eh?"

Hermione stood for a few seconds, then very slowly hugged Hagrid.

"Thanks," she whispered, and when she pulled back she wiped away tears.

"An' you, Ron and Ginny, ain't gotten to you yet! How're you two holdin' up?"

"All right, I suppose," Ron said, not too convincingly. Ginny made a small noise.

"Well, yeh just do like Hermione an' don' wallow in it, eh?" He gave them both a one-armed hug. "Bill'd especially want you ter not be sad. I remember him at Hogwarts; never saw him upset once!"

"So, how's Grawp?" Hermione asked, wanting to get off the subject.

Hagrid's eyes shown, like a father with a newborn. "Learnin' fast, he is. Enough language to speak like a 6-year-old, and not rippin' up trees anymore! I'll be bringin' him inter the castle soon enough!"

Ron laughed, very weakly.

"Well, must be on me way! Got firs' years ter look after!" He stumped importantly away, yelling, "Firs' years!"

"At least he hasn't changed," Ron said.

"He seems very nice," Luna said. "I guess Ravenclaws have a bad idea of him."

"He fantastic," Hermione said, as they proceeded into the castle.

* * *

"A thousand and one years ago 

When I was newly made

The Founding Four gave me a task

That's most sad, I'm afraid

Because, you know, they would have me

Sort the students into houses

And from only your peers, you would

Choose your friends and spouses 

And as it is my duty

I must do as they commanded

Though I'm afraid the consequence

Will be most heavy-handed

To divide wisdom and industry

Is a task misguided

To separate the brave and ambitious

Will lead to friends divided

And so place me upon your head

And I'll tell you where to go 

And as you head into your house

The warning signs will show

Don't say you were blind to it

Because I told you what would come

I'll do the task; you do the rest

Deaths will be the sum."

The Sorting Hat fell silent.

There was awkward clapping from the Great Hall, except for Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and even Neville, who clapped viciously, and Ginny let up a cheer.

"That was some song, eh?" Ron said.

"Sometimes I think the Sorting Hat's the smartest thing in this school," Harry responded.

The Sorting went on, as it always did, and when the last first year was sent to Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up. He called for silence, then spoke.

"As our Sorting Hat has warned you, separating you will most likely lead to house friction. Indeed, we did not want to do it this year, but there is the problem of too many students being overcrowded into one area, so we must. Also, Quidditch will continue this year, as Madame Hooch has informed us the unused Bludgers often break out of their boxes and attack. However, we are lifting the 1st-year broomstick ban. From now on, all students have the right to possess a broom."

There was a loud cheer from the 1st years.

"As you will see in your schedules tomorrow, all houses will be taking the same class at the same time. That is to say, all 6th years will be taking Potions in the same room at the same time."

There was loud cheering from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Slytherin and Gryffindor were less enthusiastic. 6 Slytherins looked remotely interested. One was the girl who had stood with Pansy earlier on that day.

"We have found a new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, hopefully one who can stay this time around. Please welcome Nymphadora Tonks."

This was old news to Harry and the others. They clapped mildly as she spread out her robes and curtsied, before turning her hair into shocking blue and sitting to the squeals of several first year girls.

"Professor Tonks is an Auror who has generously offered to help us out. You may, as well, be seeing more of Professor Lupin this year, as he may be substituting for her when her duties call her away."

There were more cheers, especially from the Gryffindor table.

"I have three more announcements to make. One is that we have an old student returning to our school. Kindly welcome Petunia Dursely."

Under the eyes of the entire Great Hall, Petunia grimaced and stood up from the Staff Table amid polite clapping.

"Circumstances in her 7th year caused her to leave the school. However, upon completion of her N.E.W.T's, she will join the school staff as Muggle Studies teacher, seeing as our old professor has decided to retire."

This was also old news to Harry and the others, who clapped politely.

"My next announcement is about something you may have heard of last year. 28 of our students formed a secret defense society to aid the rather—well, useless teaching method Professor Umbridge used. This year, however, there is no need for it to be secret. All students who wish to receive further training in Defense Against the Dark Arts may sign up for it in their Common Rooms. If you feel you need parental permission, the list will stay there until Friday."

There were scattered claps, and then Dumbledore spoke again.

"As I'm sure you've read in the Daily Prophet, Lord Voldemort—" there was a collective jump, "—has returned and is gaining the power he had years ago. The only way to fight against him is to remain a strong, undivided force. Therefore, I urge you to work hard together, especially in the fields of Defense and Charms. Do not let house rivalries block the way of becoming an unbreakable shield against him." He paused, and just barely sighed. "That is all I have to say. Please, enjoy the feast."

Students went to their food slowly, letting the full effect of the words sink in.

"You know why they dropped the 1st-year ban, don't you?" Hermione asked. "And why they're training us harder?"

"Why?" Ron asked, his voice muffled by chicken.

"Because he's afraid. If Voldemort—don't choke, Ron—decides to attack the school, we need to be able to defend ourselves, or make a quick getaway. And our double classes are exactly for what he said. Unity. We need to defend each other, too."

"That's not a problem in our case," Harry said, squeezing Hermione's hand. "But that might be a problem for the Slytherins over there."

"Ha, ha. Ain't you funny."

The 6 of them looked up to behind Harry. It was Elizabeth Attison, the girl from earlier. They could finally get a good look at her, to see that her hair was a shining blonde. Her expressive eyes were hazel-green, and they shown out of her pale face that was touched with pink.

"Given, Millicent's a git, and don't get me started on Pansy, but I have friends in Gryffindor."

"Elizabeth!"

A very short girl with chin-length dark brown hair, lighter brown eyes, and loads of freckles waved energetically.

"Wait!" Elizabeth yelled over. "See ya." She walked away.

"Yeah, I know her," Hermione said. "There are two girls in my dorm besides Parvati and Lavender. They're called Marie Applegate and Lynn Windward, and they're friends with that Elizabeth girl. She—Elizabeth—once got Malfoy on a prank."

"Then how's she a Slytherin?" Ron asked.

"While the majority of Slytherins—how should I put it? Um—suck, as the Americans would say, there's always one or two who are in there because they care immensely about their futures. Slytherins are known for ambition, not evilness, Ron."

CRACK

"Dobby, you give me a heart attack every time you do that," Harry said, as a very, very happy elf suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Dobby has excellent news, Harry Potter! Very excellent news!"

"You poisoned Malfoy's food?" Ron asked.

"No, Weezey, other news!"

"Dobby, call me Ron. RON. R-o-n."

"Yes sir, Weezey!"

"Why do I bother?" Ron asked, throwing up his hands.

"What's the news, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Winky's expecting, sir!"

"Expec—oh my God!" Hermione yelped. "Winky's having a baby? When?"

"Soon, Hermes, soon! Winky was so upset, Winky doesn't care for freedom at all, so Dobby gives her what wizards call a kiss! And Winky likes it! That was some months ago, sir, and now Dobby knows he loves Winky! So we gets what wizards call "married", sir, and now Winky says she's expecting! Dobby's so happy!"

"Dobby, that's great," Harry said, grinning. It was great to have good news of something, finally.

"Oh, sir, there's more! Dobby must give you a message. The new woman standing with Professor Dumbledore wants you to see her. Petty, Dobby thinks her name is."

"Aunt Petunia? What's she want?"

"Dobby knows not, sir, only that she wants you in the Professor's office. And now Dobby must return to his Winky! Good day!" He disapparated again.

"I'll go see what she wants." He gave Hermione's hand a squeeze and then stood up. "Be back soon as I can, 'kay, guys?"

"All right," 5 of them chorused as one.

Hermione tugged Harry's hand so he leaned over to give her a kiss.

"You come back soon, all right?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"What'd you want to see me for?"

Harry was looking at both Dumbledore and Petunia. Dumbledore was sitting as his desk, and Petunia sat against the wall, staring at her hands folded in her lap.

"Your Aunt Petunia wants you to see something."

"My Penseive," Petunia blurted out. "I asked Professor Dumbledore to empty some of my memories into it. It makes some of the pain of the memories go away when you empty them out into the Penseive."

"And why do you want me to see this?"

"To…understand some things," Petunia said falteringly. "Like why I left…and why I didn't talk to your mother."

Harry's eye settled on the pale blue bowl resting and smoking on Dumbledore's desk.

"You sure you want me to see this?" he asked.

"Petunia and I have discussed it, and she wants to," Dumbledore said. He beckoned Harry closer. "Enter, Harry, if you want to."

He stared at the bowl, then crossed the room slowly.

He rested his hands on the brim and looked in. Shadowy figures danced around in it.

He dipped his fingers in it, feeling it ripple. Then, he took a breath, steeled himself, and buried his head in it.


	7. The Penseives

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

The Penseives

* * *

He was in Hogwarts so many years ago. He figured that this must be the end of his aunt's 7th year, according to Dumbledore's account earlier. That made it 1980, since she had been born in 1962.

Someone passed right through him. He shivered as the memory went through his body. It, of course, felt nothing. It was only a shadow of time gone by.

He stared after it. The girl had long, dark brown hair swishing back and forth as she walked.

"Petty!" someone called from behind her.

Harry felt another memory go through him. It was another girl, this time with brown hair shining with natural red highlights.

"Stop calling me "Petty", "Lils"," the other girl said, and as she turned around Harry recognized her as none other than a young Petunia Evans.

"Lils" stopped in front of her.

"How's my Hufflepuff sister?" Lily Evans asked, grinning and hugging Petunia. "How'd you like that exam?"

"So easy it was laughable," Petunia said. "You?"

"Same here. I finished early. And of course, Mr. Potter did, too, so he spent the rest of the period staring at me. I love him, but he is so creepy, Petunia!"

Petunia laughed. Harry had never heard her laugh before. It was soft and loving, as Petunia slung her arm around Lily's shoulder. "Sorry to hear that, sis."

"I am famished, sister dear. I've got some Chocolate Frogs in my dorm. Care to join me? It'll be just you and me. I feel like it being just us girls, but the others are off with their significant others, or in Marlene and Amelia's case, studying."

"Nah, I've got somewhere to be."

"Meeting Mystery Man again?" Lily asked coyly. "You have to tell me who he is one of these days, Petty."

"Not unless you stop calling me Petty, and then maybe."

Lily made a face, then said, "See ya," and took off down a hallway.

Harry felt something under his feet move. The room was spinning. Suddenly, he was zoomed across the hallway, out a secret door, out into the courtyard, and behind Hagrid's hut.

He saw his young aunt from earlier. She was sitting on the grass, holding up a small bottle of what looked like soda pop.

"Cheers," he heard a male voice said, and looked to see a boy. He squinted, and then his mouth dropped open in recognition.

It was Severus Snape.

But not the Snape he knew. He was young, his face unlined, his black hair clean and well-brushed, and his eyes...they didn't have that look of utter hatred or annoyance in them. Today, they were sparkling and directed straight at Petunia.

It was an odd thing, for Severus Snape and Petunia Dursely to be 17, almost 18, sitting on the grass behind Hagrid's hut, having what looked like to be a picnic, with a Harry from 24 years later watching without them knowing.

"2 years," Petunia said, smiling. "I feel like I have a hanger in my mouth."

"I'll fix that for you, Pet."

"Oh, really? How?"

"Like this."

Both of them leaned in for a kiss, and Harry found himself suddenly awkward, though knowing perfectly well they couldn't see him. Almost like he was intruding on something sacred.

He tried to imagine the Snape he knew like this, and found it impossible.

"I guess years do some things to people," Harry said to himself. They, of course, did not hear them.

Petunia gave Severus another quick kiss, then drank out of her can. "So, you came up with this all by yourself?"

"Yeah."

She grinned at him. "So you are at least somewhat romantic. I thought some of those potions had affected your brains."

He made a mock sour face at her, and snorted. "Thanks, Pet."

"No problem, Severus."

She gave him another quick peck, and suddenly the ground was spinning again under Harry's feet. He was shot forward again, but this time, hours passed instead of minutes. The sun was slowly fading from view, and the moon took its place.

He stopped short as a terrified shriek and yelling voices filled his ears. He ran towards them, rounding a corner to stop short at what he saw.

What looked like a version of Crabbe was practically pinning Snape to the wall, his wand pointed at his throat. Another person, a version of Goyle, was holding Petunia, her arms pinned against her side.

Two other people stood inbetween them, a woman and a man. Harry's eyes widened. The man was Lucius Malfoy. The woman was Narcissa Black.

Narcissa muttered something and her wand sparked. Petunia shrieked again. She was covered with red marks, and multiple streams of blood was slipping down her forehead.

"That's what you get, Mudblood, for deciding to get involved with Snape," Narcissa said. "Just say the words, and I swear I'll let you go. Just say you give up on him, and you can skip off to your dorm."

"No!" she screamed.

"Oh, really, then? Well then, dearest one, do the honors, please?"

Lucius smiled, waved her wand, and Petunia screamed.

"Now, don't you have something to say, Severus?" Lucius Malfoy asked pointedly.

Severus stole a quick glance in Petunia's direction, and then he smirked.

"I must admit, this was a good plan, wasn't it?"

Even the future Death Eaters looked surprised at that.

"Couldn't have worked out better. It's amazing how stupid a Mudblood can get, isn't it? Well, she's a Hufflepuff, so we'll have to excuse her for that."

"Severus, what are you saying?" Petunia whispered.

"I mean, dearest Petunia, that I have been playing you for the sap. Our whole thing has been leading up to tonight, when I would "accidentally" lure you into a trap. Bloody brilliant, not even these guys knew it. I've been playing you all for fools and I must say, I'm quite enjoying this."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." He roughly pushed the older Crabbe away. "Pray, continue."

He disappeared into a corridor.

"Come back! Severus! SEVERUS!"

"Well, that was odd," Lucius said. "But that's Severus for you. Well, shall we continue?"

"Gladly, darling," Narcissa said, squeezing her future-husband's arm. "On the count of three." They raised their wands. "One…"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Lucius swore under his breath as a different figure ran out. Her hair was deep brown and pulled into a tight knot. Minerva McGonagall was barely recognizable at the age of 39, but her voice was not different. It still had the note of authority and dignity it'd always had.

And she was backed by Lily.

"Petunia!" Lily ran around McGonagall and shoved Narcissa roughly aside. She knelt by her shivering sister and flung her arms around her. "What did you do to her?"

"Lily, he betrayed me, he turned his back on me, he led me here!" Petunia whimpered.

"Who? Who did, Petunia? I swear, I will kill him!"

"No threats, Miss Evans," McGonagall said. "Andromeda, take them to the hospital wing. You three, we're going up to the Headmaster's office, and if you're lucky, straight home and not to a court room."

"Petunia, Petunia honey, tell me, who led you here? Who sent you to get yourself killed?" Lily demanded.

"Miss Evans, don't badger your sister, just take her upstairs!" McGonagall practically squawked.

"Yes, Professor," Lily said bitterly, getting Petunia's arm around her shoulder and then hoisting her up.

The ground started to spin again, but before he was shot away something caught his eye. A shadow of someone in the hallway.

Was it Snape? Why was he there? He had left; they'd seen him leave.

But it looked so much like him…

Before he could figure it out, he was shot along again. The sun rose and set twice, leading to two days after the accident.

"Petunia, Madam Pomfrey says that you can go back to your dorm today," Lily said, sitting on a hospital bed where a convalescent Petunia lay.

"I'm not going back to my dorm," Petunia said.

Lily looked slightly taken aback. "Well, then, I'll try and see if they can move you into my dorm. We'll be going home soon enough; it won't matter much."

"No, Lily, you don't understand. I wrote to mum and dad. They're bringing me back home now. I'm not returning to the magical world.."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "But…but Petunia, you can't! Why are you leaving?"

"I can't stay here any more. Not after what happened."

"Petunia, Lucius and Narcissa, they're suspended for the rest of the year and they'll be lucky if they can buy their way out of Azkaban! You don't have to worry about them!"

"That's not why I'm leaving!" Petunia yelled. "You don't understand!"

"Well, I would if you'd tell me!"

"Just forget it! Just leave me alone!" Her eyes snapped with indescribable fury. "I hate you!"

"Petunia, come on, honey, just go back to your dorm, Amelia will look after you—" Lily said desperately.

"No! Stay away from me! I never want to see you again!"

"Petunia!"

"GO AWAY!"

Lily stared at her sister in silence as Petunia lay, fuming.

"Very well then," she said coolly. "If you change your mind, just come to my dorm. If you don't, I'll see you in a few days when I come home."

She turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Petunia buried her face in her hands and cried.

The room began to spin again, and suddenly Harry felt as if a hand was pulling him. He sped upwards until his head emerged from the Penseive, followed by the rest of his body. He landed on the floor, too shocked by the memories to brace himself to land on his feet.

He picked himself up and looked around the room. Petunia face was buried in her hands, and she shuddered as she breathed in and out deeply.

"Harry, those were flashes from your aunt's 7th year," Dumbledore explained quietly. "I suppose you understand everything that happened, then?"

"No, not…quite," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Snape had left the room when Lucius and Narcissa were attacking her, but just before I left the memory I saw him in the hallway leading out from the room. He looked like he was…watching."

"Probably was. Watching to see me suffer," Petunia said angrily. "I can't believe I allowed myself to trust him—"

"Petunia, don't upset yourself, that's not why you showed Harry this," Dumbledore interrupted quietly. "And even if he was, he's on our side now."

"Why DID you show me this?" Harry asked, looking straight at his aunt.

Petunia began to wring her hands. She was still looking at her lap. "You saw, Harry, how close your mother and I were, and you know firsthand that changed. I wanted you to understand why…because I owe you that. I was never strong, like Lily was."

"If that hadn't left…or if that never happened, but you still had to take me in, do you think that we would've…gotten along better?"

Petunia finally looked at him. Her eyes were shining with tears. "Do you know, Harry, I think we would have."

* * *

"See, Hermione, I've been telling you for years, Snape's evil and always has been," Ron said.

It was the next day. By the time Harry had returned, all of them were asleep. Even Hermione, who had waited up for him in the Common Room, was asleep on the sofa. He'd had to carry her up to the girl's dorm and have the anti-boy charm removed by Lavender so he could put her to bed.

And now, the Golden Trio was standing in the hallway, discussing Petunia's memories.

"Oh, for God's sake, Ron. Did you not listen to all that Harry said? He said Snape was in the hallway after he left! Why would Snape stick around to get caught if he HAD set her up?"

"Don't ask me to think like he does."

"Yeah, it's too much to ask you to just think, isn't it?"

"That, Hermione Granger, was very rude," Luna cut in, glaring at the older girl. She had just arrived in time to hear Hermione's insult.

"Oh, quit your bickering, all of you," Harry said, and Ron, Hermione and Luna fell silent. "Look, I'm going to confront him about it."

"He'll poison you," Ron said automatically.

"I don't care. I've been waiting for years to nail him on something and this is it."

"Harry, do you want me to go with you?" Hermione asked.

"Nah, I better do this alone."

"At least let me wait outside for you," she said, insisting.

"Yeah, if Snape kills you, you'll need a witness," Ron said.

Luna snickered, very loudly. Ron stared at her.

"All right."

Hermione stared at the giant clock on the wall, the clock that never needed resetting. "We can make it before the stairs change if we go now."

"Hermione. You've actually timed the changing in the stairs?" Ron aked incredulously.

"You've just noticed?" Hermione smiled. "See ya, Ron. Harry, if you're ready?"

"Yeah."

The two disappeared down a hallway.

"She doesn't seem to respect you too much," Luna said.

"Who, Hermione? She's always been condescending."

"Is it her way of expressing affection?" Luna asked, her tone changing slightly.

"I guess." Ron snorted. "'Cept she should be talking Harry down, now that they're dating."

"Did you two ever date?"

"What's with the 3rd degree?" he shot at her.

"I'm just curious."

"I'll say."

"So, did you ever date her?"

"No, okay?!"

Luna seemed just slightly taken aback. "Did you want to?"

"It's none of your business," he snarled. "Why do you have to be so creepy, anyway? Why must you always stick your nose in other people's business? Why can't you just at least act normal for once, Looney?!"

He stopped immediately when he saw her eyes glaze over, shining. He recognized this look. This was the one 6-year-old Ginny had had whenever Fred had pulled her pigtails and said she had worms growing out from her head. But Luna's face seemed to portray hurt a thousand times worse.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I went too far, I'm just in a bad mood—"

"No, you made yourself perfectly clear, Ronald Rupert Weasley!" she yelled. With one swift flick of her arm, she pushed him aside and ran away, pushing inbetween two Slytherin girls who were on their way to their dorm. They laughed as she ran.

Ron was left standing there, gaping after Luna.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, this is not a school day, so to what do I owe this intrusion upon my only time away from student-induced headaches?"

"I want to talk about my aunt."

Snape stared fixedly at Harry. "What makes you want to talk about her, Potter?"

"I saw her Penseive. I know you two were together, and as much as it makes me want to hurl to admit it, you seemed quite happy with her."

"Oh? You do realize, Potter, that was 24 years ago?"

"I'm relatively good in math, so I figured that out," Harry shot back. "I'm also pretty keen on observations…no comments from the Peanut Gallery. What were you doing in that hallway?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were torturing my aunt, you said you had led her there on purpose just to get a good laugh at them all. And then you walked out. McGonagall walked in almost two seconds later. And when we were leaving that particular memory, I saw you standing in the hallway. What were you doing there, huh?"

Snape looked…It was difficult to place what his expression was. It seemed almost…torn.

"That, as I have pointed out, was 24 years ago and has nothing to do with what's going on now."

"Uh-huh. So, it's just like Ron said. You're evil and you always were! You have quite the time of it toying with people's emotions, don't you? Do you know that what you did to her not only make her leave magic, but cut all ties with her sister, too? Do you know what kind of man she married just to get away from magic? But, of course, it's not like you care! I suppose she was just another mudblood waste of oxygen to you—"

Snape's hand shot out and grabbed Harry around his upper neck, fingers digging into his skin. Snape's eyes were glittering with a fury Harry had never seen before. This went beyond loathing. It was pure hate.

"Don't you ever…say that about us again," he hissed.

His free hand reached under his desk. He produced a blue bowl, misting like boiling water. It was his own Penseive.

"So you want to know, Potter, what happened?" He swirled the bowl slightly. "Let's not waste time, then."

Viciously, he tugged Harry headfirst into the Penseive.

* * *

He was back in the hallway, watching as Petunia was tortured. Her shrieks seemed even louder and more terrified than before.

"SEVERUS!"

Snape brushed past and went down a hallway, Harry tailing him.

He stopped suddenly, and Harry almost fell through him.

Snape took out his wand, pointed to himself and muttered, "_Rapidan_."

He took off like a bullet. Harry started to run after him, but before he could he was already in another part of the memory.

"Professor, you were right, your sisters and Malfoy are already starting," he said, to the younger McGonagall.

"Good work, Severus," McGonagall said.

"Just remember that you can NOT tell anyone. Not ever. Take it to your grave."

"Of course.

She was gone in an instant, and Snape sprinted after her, too.

* * *

And Harry was yanked along to another memory.

"Severus."

"Lucius," Snape answered on the same vein.

"Quite an interesting joke you pulled last night. My trunks are packed already. I'm leaving today."

"McGonagall must've been pretty thorough with her report," Snape answered.

Lucius snapped out his wand. "Listen, you filthy git, I know you had something to do with us getting caught. I saw how you and that mudblood carried on together. Telling me you were posing the entire time is insulting my intelligence. I don't like being insulted, Severus."

"I suppose you'd like being incarcerated worse, so I suggest you put that away."

"Are you being smart with me? If I catch you with that mudblood again I will personally see you both into Hell. I'm quite good with Unforgivables, Severus. Perhaps I'll torture her, before I make her kill you, and then herself. Would you like that, Severus?"

"You don't have the guts or the power, Lucius."

"Oh? Forces are gathering, Severus. Wizards for the purification of our race. Narcissa and I are joining as soon as we leave this school, expulsion or otherwise."

"And you are telling me this…why?"

"You're pretty good at the Dark Arts, Severus. We could use someone like you on our side."

Snape sneered. "You're wasting your time."

"Oh, I don't think so. I could always go right up to the hospital wing and finish the job on Miss Petunia Evans."

Snape's face flashed…was it fear?…and then glared.

"I'll make it simple. Join us or I'll kill her. Think it over, Severus. Don't bother lying to me about it; I can see right through you."

Snape's face turned right back into the look it always held for Harry, but this hate seemed even deeper. Harry, even knowing full well that they couldn't see him, felt immensely scared.

"Fine," he hissed out. "Now get out."

Lucius smiled and nasty, condescending grin. "Glad to."

He bowed lightly, and then swept out of the room.

Harry felt the room spin again, and suddenly he was being swept backwards. He was being pulled back out of the Penseive.

He emerged from the Penseive with Snape's hand still around his neck, until Snape tossed him like a rag doll onto the floor.

The two stared at each other for a long time, each trying to read the other's face. Harry was trying to put together the two Snapes: the almost 18-year-old pure-blood Slytherin who had sincerely loved a Muggle-born Hufflepuff, and the 42-year-old who had toyed with him for the past 6 years.

"That "personal risk" that Professor Dumbledore was talking about when you rejoined our side," Harry finally managed to say. "Was that…my aunt's life?"

"Since you are so "keen on observations", Potter, I imagine you'll come to your own conclusion." He began to shuffle some papers on his desk.

Harry picked himself up. "How can you just sit there with my aunt right here in the castle? I've seen the two of you in her Penseive; you two were lovesick idiots!"

"I reiterate, Potter, that was 24 years ago. She has married and had a child, and I have a career. We have not spoken to each other since our 7th year. I regret showing you my memories, Potter, if you can't grasp that realization."

"Why did you show me that?" Harry immediately shot.

His face hardened. "Get out."

"No."

"I said, "Get out"," Snape hissed, standing up menacingly. "Now."

Harry glared at Snape for a long time, and he returned the expression.

"Fine, then," Harry finally said. "But I think you owe my aunt an explanation. And if you don't tell her, I will."

He turned his back on Snape. Before his teacher could say anything, Harry took out his wand, pointed it to himself, and muttered, "_Rapidan_."

He managed to stop himself outside the door, where Hermione had been waiting nervously. She was just removing her hand from where it had been pulling her hair.

"Harry! Are you all right? What did he say?"

"I'll tell you as soon as we find Ron. It saves the hassle of telling it twice."

He suddenly grabbed up her hand with both of his.

"Harry?"

"Hermione, you know I love you, right?" he asked.

"Harry, you know I know. Why do you ask?"

"I'll explain later. But it's good to know that you understand." He kissed her.

"Harry James Potter, you are a strange one," Hermione said, eyes smiling. "Well, I'm absolutely dying to find out what happened, so please, let's go find Ron."

Harry smiled at her, the muttered the Speed charm and grabbed her wrist before they took off together.


	8. The Troubles of Utopia

Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter or the quote from Rent

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The Troubles of Utopia

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"Harry, Hermione, you will not believe what Luna just did!" Ron said, seeing them approach. Harry had removed the speed charm and now they were walking normally.

"Well, if you tell us, we'll believe it," Hermione said.

"It was right after you said that "You just noticed" remark," Ron said. "She was saying how you don't respect me too much. She got all weird and asked if we ever dated. So I told her we never did, and she asked me if I wanted to. And I- - -I got mad at her and told her she was a nosy freak. She started crying and ran off."

"Oh, Ron, you screwed up bad," Harry said.

"That's what Ginny said when I told her about it."

"Well…we all know that Luna and I are not on the best of terms," Hermione said, "but I do think you went a bit far, Ron."

"Why does this happen? Am I just gonna make stupid mistakes until one day I wake up and know exactly how girls work?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Harry said.

"Oh, Harry, don't be a moron," Hermione said, giving him a little shove. "I think the first clue that you went wrong was calling her a nosy freak. Did you at least apologize?"

"I tried, but she pushed me aside and ran off before I could finish."

"Doesn't sound like Luna," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Normally she wouldn't care what anyone says about her, unless they were insulting her father." She thought on it for a moment. Then, a slow, sly smile spread across her face. "Oh."

"What? "Oh" what?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Have you ever noticed how she laughs at only your jokes?"

"Well yeah, but I thought she was just being spooky," Ron said.

"Have you ever noticed how she always takes up your defense?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know that she ran straight to St. Mungo's just to see if you were okay?"

"Well…George mentioned something along those lines…"

"Has she ever pouted her lips and called you "Pookie"?" 

"Yea—what?"

Hermione smiled. "Just making sure you were paying attention."

"Hey, you've never pouted your lips and called me "Pookie", Hermes," Harry said coyly.

"That's because I respect myself, Harry," Hermione answered automatically.

"What's your point, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Oh, isn't it obvious?! Luna fancies you!"

Ron opened his mouth, and closed it, like a beached fish. "B-but…"

"I would've thought you'd recognized the symptoms, both of you, seeing as how you've both had crushes before!"

"What?!" they roared unanimously.

"Well, Harry, there was that obvious bit of fancying on your part towards Miss Cho Chang."

Cho. Harry had nearly forgotten about her. He barely remembered what she looked like, and so far had not seen her.

"And you, Ron, your crush on me in both 2nd and 4th year was so transparent it was painful."

"Me? A crush…on you?!"

"Oh, don't bother covering it up, Ron, you're terrible at lying."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ron exploded.

"Well, a good portion of second year was spent with me either covered in fur or Petrified. And most of fourth year was spent with Viktor. Plus, it would've been immensely awkward to say anything, especially because you are so lousy at expressing your feelings."

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm beginning to think that Luna was right. You don't respect me too much."

Hermione flipped her hair. "Luna, I think, was trying to point out something wrong with me, because she obviously noticed that you had fancied me for a while and she's…she's jealous."

"That sounds sort of conceited," Ron said.

"It's just theory, Ron. How about this, maybe she just doesn't like me. Happy?"

"That's not exactly good either…"

"In any case, Ron, you owe her an apology and an explanation, and you should do it soon."

"All right, I will," Ron said, chewing on his bottom lip. "So, Harry, what happened with Snape?"

"You won't believe it," Harry said, whispering conspiratorially as someone passed by. "Snape actually went for Andromeda—Tonks's mum—after he left my aunt with Malfoy in that hallway. And it gets even stranger- - -Malfoy threatened Snape to get him to join Voldemort! He said he would kill my aunt if Snape didn't join up!"

"And Snape…he actually did that? He actually did something to save your aunt's life?"

"Yeah…I guess that he turned spy so that he could keep on fooling Malfoy into keeping his end of the bargain while doing something for our side."

"That doesn't sound like Snape, though," Ron said. "Maybe…maybe he found out that your aunt had married someone else…and he was so angry…he decided to forget about her and come back to our side? So Malfoy could just kill her if he wanted to?"

"No faith in human nature once again, Ron," Hermione said. "But…it sounds like…that could be it. What do you think, Harry?"

"Ron's idea sounds more like Snape, but then, it's unlike Snape to be with my aunt," Harry said slowly.

"Maybe we've all had…at least a slightly flawed view of him?" Hermione suggested tentatively. 

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions about him yet," Ron said fiercely. "He's still been an arrogant git for 5 years."

"Hmm. Well, Ron, you'd better get around to apologizing to Luna," Hermione said.

"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ron said. "I think she might be in our common room; Ginny said that she had run in there to tell her about it."

"All right. We'll stick around out here for now," Harry said.

"See ya, mates," Ron said, waving a little as he walked off.

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Ron fiddled with the sleeves of his robe as he made his way toward his Common Room. 

It wasn't unthinkable or even surprising that Hermione knew that he'd had crushes on her for two years. It was still slightly awkward. 

Maybe it went in cycles of two years. 1st year-hated her. 2nd year-loved her. 3rd year-hated her. 4th year-loved her. 5th year-not quite so much hated her as tolerated her. 6th year…

This year was a weird year. Harry and Hermione were together, something that Ron knew in his heart of hearts would always happen. The two were just so perfect for each other. The Golden Boy and The School Brain. 

He'd always felt a little like the third wheel, a sparrow among eagles. Maybe that's why he'd been fancying Hermione. Aren't people always fascinated with what they can never be?

Why did Luna fancy him, he wondered? There was nothing really special about him. He wasn't all that great a Quidditch Keeper, though that last game had been rather awesome, if he did say so himself. He wasn't especially brilliant; his O.W.L results showed that. And the last useful thing he figured himself doing was sacrificing himself on that Chess Board so Harry and Hermione could get through to the Sorcerer's Stone.

He thought of Luna and how she was always hiding behind her magazine. Did she feel like the odd man out, too? Or, was that her nature? Was she anti-social or one of those Muggle people in the 60's, called Hippies? Was she just so disgusted with society that she had to be the exact opposite of it? Or was she just raised that way?

Just how little did he know about her?

"Flibberflabber," Ron said, and the Fat Lady swung open her portrait hole. He climbed into the Common Room.

"Ron, she's asleep," Ginny said, looking up from the table where she was doing her Charms homework. "I got her to finally stop crying about twenty minutes ago and she fell off for a nap before she heads back to her own Common Room."

"Um, I…I guess I'll wait here," Ron said.

Ginny raised her eyebrow, but said nothing, just flicked her hand over to the direction of the couch.

Luna was curled up in a not quite fetal position, her knees bent and her arms resting on her calves. A few strands of hair hung in her face but most of it was swept back.

Ron noted how she didn't look so strange when she was asleep, but unlike most people, she didn't look childlike either. She looked…pretty.

Forget pretty. Beautiful. 

Feeling like a fool, he sat down at the end of the couch and simply watched her sleep.

"Mommy? Mommy?!"

Ron nearly jumped out of his skin when Luna started screeching. Ginny turned around and stared.

"Mommy, please don't die, we need you! Daddy will go back…Mommy! MOMMY!"

"Luna, wake up!" Ron leaned over and grabbed her shoulders. He yanked her upright and shook her. She jiggled like a rag doll. "Luna! Come on! Wake up!"

Luna's eyes shot open suddenly and Ron nearly threw her back in surprise. As it was, he was leaning away from her.

The normally content, mysterious eyes were bloodshot. All of a sudden she had a haggard look to her, like a beggar at the end of winter. 

"Luna?" Ron asked, very carefully. "Are…are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Were…were you dreaming about your mother dying?" he continued tentatively. Harry had mentioned that Luna could see thestrals, which meant she had seen death, and her shouting obviously meant it was her mother who had died.

She still didn't answer.

"Luna?"

"I miss my mommy," Luna said softly. "I'm almost 15, I need her! Daddy needs her!"

"Hey, it's…it's all right," Ron said lamely. He slowly reached out and patted her shoulder. 

"It's not all right! We need her here! Especially with Voldemort here!"

Ginny jumped and squeaked at the name, and Ron's insides gave a little leap when the name escaped Luna's lips. Even though he had been insane at the time—and fighting off killer brains—he had seen Voldemort, recognized him, and had never seen anything so sinister. Harry and Hermione could call him by name—because they were either responsible for killing him or rational—but Ron couldn't bring himself to say it.

Luna, apparently, didn't have any problem saying the name, but her bloodshot eyes seemed to widen even more than they were, making her seem like a person who had witnessed gruesome murders and just barely escaped herself.

"Mommy was so strong; she could fight his Death Eaters!" Luna breathed. "Daddy can't…and I can't…"

"Luna, come on, hey, it's all right," Ron said, still feeling foolish as he began to stiffly rub her shoulder up and down. "We've got an Auror training us, and all those extra defense lessons, and your dad's in the Order, isn't he? I'm sure you'll both be okay."

Luna began to chew her ring finger nail. "But, Ron—ow!"

"What?"

"My nail broke." Luna took her hand down to show it.

"JEEZ!" Ron said, taking her hand in his two and staring at her nail. Half of it was ripped off. "You'd better take that to Madam Pomfrey, it could get infected…um…"

He suddenly realized that he was holding Luna's hand. He glanced up at Luna to see that a faint, dark pink was rising in the apples of her cheeks.

"Yes, it hurts a lot," Luna said, back to her usual tone of voice. "I'll go right up to Madam Pomfrey, and I'll meet you downstairs for dinner, all right?"

"Y-yeah," Ron said. "You do that."

"Good-bye, Ronald," Luna said, standing up.

"Uh, Luna," Ron said quickly.

"Yes?" Luna was halfway to the door.

"You can…you can just call me "Ron" from now on," he stammered.

Luna beamed at him, her cheeks red. Her eyes were still bloodshot. "I'll do that, Ron."

Luna climbed out the portrait hole amid snickers from Ginny.

"What're you laughing at, Ginny?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said in a sugary, bubbly voice. "I'm going to go meet Colin for dinner. I'll see you downstairs."

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Luna stopped, hesitatingly, outside the door. She didn't want to enter; she never did, and she hoped desperately that no future students would know about it.

If there would be any future students.

She stared at her ring finger. The other half of her nail was re-growing very slowly. It inched its way over the tip of her finger before it finally created a perfect fingernail.

She gasped as writing appeared on it. Written in crimson blood were the words: "Don't even try it".

Luna clamped her lips together. It had not told her to go in. She didn't have to.

Breathing a very audible sigh of relief, she slowly made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

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Petunia let out a very big sigh as she sat on her bed. She had closed off her area into its own private room so she wouldn't have to deal with the giggly 16-year-old girls in her dorm.

She never thought she'd walk these halls again. She never thought she'd come within 100 yard of this facility again.

All of these memories. She remembered, right her on this bed, she, Lily, Amelia, Marlene, and Molly had sat and giggled, teasing Marlene about her grades, Molly about Arthur, and Lily about James, and trying to guess who Petunia's mystery man was. Here she had lain dreaming about this "mystery man", before he had ultimately betrayed her, of course, thank God Andromeda had run in when she did. Where she had spent her last night in the castle, crying, hating Snape for betraying her, her friends for not understanding, and herself for pushing Lily away.

So many bad memories, and so many good.

"Mrs. Dursely!"

6th-year Susan Bones was knocking on her door. Petunia had a hard time looking at her, because she looked so much like her aunt Amelia, who had been her best friend other than Lily. It was at least easier to look at her than at Harry, though, as Amelia was still alive. 

"Come in, Susan."

Susan opened the door. She had a particular interest in Petunia, seeing as her aunt had been Petunia's best friend. 

"Professor Snape wants to see you."

"Tell him I'm busy at the moment."

"Please, Mrs. Dursely, he said that it was of the utmost importance," Susan continued. "He wants to see you in his office."

Petunia sighed sharply. "Fine, Susan. Give me a moment and I'll be down."

Susan flashed a smile at Petunia and then scuttled out of the room.

Petunia sat on her bed for a long minute. Then, she picked herself up, brushing and smoothing out her robes—when had she last worn robes!—and left her room.

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"Make this quick," Petunia said. She was glaring at Snape from across the office, keeping as far away from him as possible.

"I wanted to show you this," he said thickly, "Before you get a different version of it from your nephew."

He put his hand on the rim of a blue bowl.

"Your Penseive, is it?" Petunia sniffed. "And what exactly are you showing me? All the plotting you did to get me in that hallway?"

"If I had plotted something, would I show it to you?" Snape answered steely.

Petunia stared at him sullenly, but didn't answer.

"Just look in it, okay?" he snapped.

"You sound like you're 15," Petunia said.

"We were 15 in this Penseive. Look in it. If you don't like what you see I will not bother you again."

"Deal," Petunia said.

Snape pushed the Penseive over to her as she crossed the room. She looked into it and then at Snape, and back again at the Penseive.

Then she buried her face into it.

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"You…you joined the Dark Side to keep me alive?"

Petunia's head was out of the Penseive. She'd suddenly had the need to sit down after she had seen the contents of it. She had taken Snape's seat. He had not argued.

"I turned spy for Dumbledore," Snape answered simply.

"Why? I mean, you must've found out that I'd gotten married. Did you still continue to care about me? Or were you so angry at that fact that you rejoined Professor Dumbledore's side without any heed of my safety?" Her tone was bitter.

"Believe that if you wish, and you sound remarkably like Potter and Weasley in thinking so."

"But if that's the case…why did you remain a spy?"

Snape's expression changed. Hardened features he had carried for 27 years seemed to soften, just slightly. He opened his mouth to answer.

KNOCK

Snape's face went back to its usual lines.

"What?" he yelled harshly.

"It's Tonks," a female voice said.

"Enter," he said. 

The door opened and Tonks walked in. 

"What does our new Defense teacher want?"

Tonks's voice wavered and a tear was on the verge of spilling out of her eye. "There's been a Death Eater attack. On Muggles. Apollo Lovegood just brought us the news. 106 dead. And, Petunia…" The tear spilled out, followed by another one. "Two of them were your husband and son."

Petunia's face blanched. Her whole body seemed to go limp, like old lettuce.

"Vernon…Dudley…"

She slumped over in a dead faint.

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Harry couldn't comprehend it. The thought just would not enter and take hold in his brain. 

His uncle and his cousin were dead.

How often he had wished for this! To be rid of those single-minded, prejudiced, abusive relatives! But for them to actually be dead! He couldn't believe it.

Tonks had told him the news when he had spotted his aunt being whisked up to the hospital wing by her and Snape. She had stopped and tearfully told him the news before rushing off again. And he had been standing in the hallway, not moving, for 5 minutes.

Hermione, who was with him, snapped her fingers in front of his face, trying to get him to answer her. "Harry?"

Harry suddenly shuddered and looked to face her. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? Do you want to go up and see your aunt?"

"I'm…I'm okay," he said. "No, I want to eat something. My stomach feels like a pit. I'll go up and see her later."

"But, Harry, they were your relatives!"

"Aaron and Belle are your relatives, too! Would you be too upset if they died?!"

Hermione stiffened. Her expression looked sick.

"Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry, Hermione."

"Your relatives never killed anyone."

"My relatives abused, neglected, and ridiculed me for nearly 15 years straight. Excuse me if I'm not terribly upset."

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry to sound preachy, Harry, when it comes to something like this. But since I lost my parents, I've realized how important family is. I don't have siblings or cousins; all I've got is my grandmother, June, and she's near death with grief."

"I'm sorry, Hermes," Harry said, putting his arm around her shoulder and squeezing her. "Look, how about this. I'll head up to see my aunt and then grab something leftover from the kitchen. You can tell Ron and them where I've gone."

"All right," Hermione said. "Do you want me to go up and see you?"

"Nah. I'll go up alone."

"Okay."

He gave her a quick kiss, and then headed for the stairs leading to the hospital wing.

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"Remus, I'm so worried."

Remus looked up at Tonks from beneath his eyelashes.

"That Death Eater attack was right near where my parents live. Dad's so ill and Mum's so taken up with taking care of them…I just worry that they won't have the strength to keep it up."

"It'll be okay," Remus said, standing up and going to her.

"I wanna believe that so badly…and I try to stay cheerful for all our sakes…but I just feel like I'm gonna lose everything." She sighed. "I miss Sirius."

"I do to." Remus sat down in her chair.

Tonks sat down on her desk, facing him. "He was like a favorite uncle, even though he was really…what do you call your mother's cousin?"

"First cousin once removed."

"Oh…well, he was like that for me. Did you know that when my grandfather refused to walk Mum down the aisle, because she was marrying a Muggle-born, Sirius did it for her?"

"Tonks, I went to Andy's wedding."

"God, you can call my mother by her first name! I keep forgetting you're 19 years older than I am. And that's another thing I'm worried about,"

"What, that I'm going to die first? That's not a given, Tonks."

"I know it's not, but it's still a factor. You also have lycanthropy, and that's a big problem. Not with me, Remus, but with your chances of survival. There are ways of getting to a werewolf without using silver bullets."

"You don't have to worry about me, Nymphadora."

"I hate it when you call me "Nymphadora"."

"And I hate it when you worry." He put his hands over hers and leaned up to her face. "Please don't worry about me more than necessary. It's not a given that we'll come out alive. All we can do is try to survive, and protect each other. You're an Auror; you understand that."

"Yes, I understand that."

"So, smile, Nymphadora."

"Only if you stop calling me "Nymphadora"," she laughed.

"Ha. You laughed anyway."

She gave him a kiss, then wrapped her arms around his head and held him to her chest.

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Harry stared straight across his aunt's bed to where Snape was.

He was still having a hard time believing that his least favorite teacher and his aunt had once been young lovers, though he had seen it with his own eyes twice over.

"Why was she in your office?"

"She was seeing the Penseive."

"What did she think of it?"

"Not a thing in especial," he answered tartly. "I bid you adieu, Potter." He headed away.

"If you love her so much, why don't you stay with her?" Harry asked, with the exact same tone as Snape.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again after this, Potter. 27 YEARS AGO. Good-bye."

The curtain around the bed snapped shut, and a loud thud was heard as the door was slammed behind Snape.

The thud seemed to jolt something in Petunia, because a small moan escaped from her lips.

"Aunt Petunia?"

"Sev…Severus. Severus! SEVERUS!"


	9. Thoughts For The Dead

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter

Shoutouts:

Walker-of-the-shadow-path: "Moving Oleta" is from Reba's newest CD, "Room To Breathe". And I have no clue where I got the inspiration for Snape/Petunia.

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Thoughts For The Dead

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It was three days before Petunia could get herself out of bed. She just had no energy to drag herself from the cot. Mourning had zapped all life force from her.

Her husband and son were her last connections to the safe world of Muggles. Now that they were gone, she was completely a witch again.

Plus, she felt like an incredible heel, calling out Snape's name just minutes after learning that her husband was dead. She had loved her Vernon to bits, and had supported him through everything, even in his neglect of Harry. And Dudley, her baby, had been the light of her life.

But had she really been happy these past few years? She struggled with herself over this question more than anything else in her recovery. Her life had been pretty mundane, even with Harry coming, and there hadn't been much passion or fire in anything she did. Her life had consisted of cooking, cleaning, and little else.

"I'm just thinking that way because I'm in mourning," she told herself firmly the day she left the hospital wing. "I'm just upset. That's all."

She made her way down the stairs unassisted, to the disapproving glare of Madam Pomfrey. She had last come down these steps to pack up her trunks before her parents took her home. Lily had watched her pack, silent. The last time they ever glimpsed each other at the school was when Petunia was in the car, and Lily had given her a crisp good-bye, still stinging at what Petunia had said the day previous.

Oh, yes, she had regrets. Hundreds of them. Leaving the school, not listening to Snape, abandoning Lily, treating Harry like dirt, never telling her family that she was a witch…

Her eyes smarted at the thought of her deceased family, and suddenly she realized that she was almost completely alone in the world. Her entire family and one old friend dead, her other friend and her boyfriend estranged, and her nephew, her last remaining relative, who hated her guts.

Her whole life had been one downward spiral since she had left the school. She was 43 and had nothing to show for her years.

She crumpled up against the wall and sobbed.

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Luna sat in the Ravenclaw common room, which had been dubbed The Eagle's Nest since before she had come here. Her quill was poised to do her Charms homework, and yet she couldn't bring her hand down to the paper.

She could still see the scar outlined on her hand. Not long ago it had born the legend: "Remember your mother".

Remember? How could she forget the horrible explosion that had disemboweled Diana Lovegood, left to be found by her 9-year-old daughter? How could she forget the following days, fearing for her father's sanity? 

She scratched her quill against the parchment before she realized that all the ink had dried up. She dipped it in her inkwell and started writing.

She stopped when she saw what she had written.

"Someone help me."

She brushed it with the feather, but the ink refused to erase. She rolled it up and went to the window. She dropped it and watched it flutter down to the Quidditch field below. Lonely, disregarded.

Just like she was.

She needed to get out of here, and quick. She needed something to make her feel better; something to ease her mind.

She needed her mother.

She slammed her book shut and shoved them in her bookbag. She sprinted across the length of The Eagle's Nest towards the portrait hole. She shoved it open roughly, savagely, so the portrait squawked in pain and indignance. But she didn't care. She just kept running.

"Luna?"

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of her name being spoken. The last person she wanted and the first person all at once.

"Yes, Ronal—Ron?" she said.

"Where are you running in such a hurry?"

"No where in especial," Luna said, making a successful attempt at her usual mystic tones.

"Well, I'm heading down to the kitchens for a snack. Harry and Hermione are already there. Wanna come with?"

Luna raised her eyebrows, and Ron couldn't believe that those words had just left his mouth. He was inviting Luna to go somewhere with him. Luna, the girl who had creeped him out all last year, who'd had a fit just three days ago.

Who had looked so beautiful sleeping three days ago…

"No, I cannot," Luna said. "I have to go somewhere."

"Where?"

Luna fell silent.

"Are you just trying to get away from me?" He didn't know why that thought angered him suddenly.

"Of course not, Ron!" Luna yelped.

Ron was taken aback. Luna was suddenly slipping out of her characteristics these days. "Well, where are you going?"

"I cannot tell you."

Ron sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. I'll see you, Luna."

He turned his back and started to walk away. He had not taken five steps away when…

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess…I don't need to be there as urgently as I thought I did. Would you still like me to come with you to the kitchens?"

"If you want," Ron said, trying to sound offhand.

"Thank you." Luna ran to him and grabbed his sleeve, pulling herself so that she was right next to him. He noticed this and pretended he didn't.

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"Winky's not working anymore, Harry Potter and Hermes!" Dobby exclaimed proudly.

"Betcha Winky loves that," Harry whispered in Hermione's ear. They were sitting on the floor of the kitchens, amid the hustle and bustle of elves overachieving their cooking work.

Hermione shot him a playful glare. "That's good, Dobby. Making an expecting mother do hard labor is a crime against humanity. Or elvenry, if you want to point a fine point on it."

"Which everyone knows that Hermione loves to do," Harry said quickly, earning himself a jab courtesy of Hermione's elbow.

"Dobby has heard that Harry Potter and Hermes love each other like Dobby and Winky do," Dobby said. "Is Hermes going to have Harry Potter's children soon?"

"Whoa, Dobby, slow down," Harry said, putting up his hands. "We've only been dating since late August. Bit early for that, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah," Hermione said, her face suddenly bright pink. "I mean, we're not even married. We're only 16!"

"16! That's old for a house elf, miss. Dobby is 20 years, and should have had 3 more than this coming one!"

"It's not quite so old for wizards, Dobby," Harry said, rubbing his temples.

"What's not so old for wizards?" a new voice asked, as Ron climbed into the kitchen, Luna at his heels.

"Dobby thinks that I should be having Harry's babies starting now," Hermione said.

"Well, that's understandable," Luna said. "After all, elves generally have a baby a year starting at about 16—"

"As Dobby was just saying, miss!" Dobby piped up. "Who's you, miss?"

"I'm Luna Diana Lovegood." 

"I'm Dobby, Miss Looney!" Dobby grinned at her. "Is you with Weezey, Looney?"

"I'm Weezey," Ron said dejectedly.

"I'm his friend, I hope," Luna said. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stared at her.

"Like Hermes and Harry Potter?"

"No, just friends, Dobby," Ron interrupted quickly.

"Oh, Dobby doesn't understand wizards and witches!" the house-elf moaned.

"Dobby, you is rude, you is!" a house-elf yelled from the corner. "You's best be givin' them their food and goin' back to you's wife!"

"Dobby can stay as long as he likes!" Hermione piped indignantly.

"Miss Hermes, Dobby wishes you wouldn't!" Dobby squeaked. "House-elves gets mean when one of they's own breaks rules or is disrespecting the masters!"

"Oh, honestly, they infuriate me sometimes!" Hermione fumed. 

Harry laughed and slung his arm around her. "Calm down, Hermes."

Hermione smiled wryly. "So, Dobby, how is Winky doing?"

"Just wonderfuls, Hermes!"

"Picked any names for the baby yet?" Harry asked.

"Hatty for a girl, Potty for a boy!"

"Pray God that it's a girl," Ron muttered.

"I want a baby girl," Hermione said suddenly.

Harry, Ron, Luna, and Dobby all looked to her.

"When I get older, and married, I want to have a little baby girl. Emma Demi. Emma because that's my middle name, and Demi for my mother."

"I want a girl, too," Luna said. "First, at least. Phoebe Diana. Or Selena Artemis."

Hermione and Luna looked at each other for a long moment. Finally…

"Those are pretty names," Hermione said.

"Yours is, too," Luna said.

They gave each other rare, small smiles.

~ 

~ 

~

~

"Petunia?"

Petunia jerked her head up, startled.

"Severus!" she gasped, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I didn't hear you coming. How long have you been there?"

"I just arrived."

"Oh. Um…well. I'd…better be going, shouldn't I?" she said nervously, picking herself up.

"I was sorry to hear about your family," he muttered.

"Hmm? Oh, oh, that. Yes, well I…I can't be in bed forever, can I?"

"No, I suppose you can't."

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh, I want to thank you for showing me the Penseive," Petunia said. "I'm sorry I never asked you about it before. Y'know, my stubborn attitude has ruined my life lots, hasn't it? I mean, if I hadn't been such a donkey, Lily and I wouldn't have been estranged. I could've graduated; I could've worked in the Ministry. Maybe you and I would still be together." She sighed. "Well, "woulda, coulda, shoulda", eh? I'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm alone."

"I don't think…you're quite as alone as you believe you are."

Petunia gave him a wry smile. "Thank you, Severus. I think we've both been pretty unfair to each other, haven't we? Thank you for bothering with me again." She took his hand in both of her, and unconsciously noted how it suddenly warmed. "If we could be friends again, that would help me immensely."

"…Yes, of course."

"Good." Petunia wiped the last remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm going back to my dorm now. Later on I'm going to a wizard cemetery were my family is buried. I reckon my family is the only non-magic people to be buried there."

She gave him a small, wry smile and then walked away, leaving him staring after her, wondering where all the time had gone since 5th year, 1976-77.

~

~ 

~ 

~ 

Harry looked down at his magical watch and his eye nearly popped out of his head. 

"Guys, I need to get ready!" he said. "My aunt and I are going to the cemetery in a little while with some Order members."

"Why didn't you mention anything?" Ron asked. "I'll go with you."

"Nah, you don't have to," Harry said.

"No, I want to. I haven't been there since the funeral last month, and I think…I think I should visit."

"Me too," Hermione said.

"You sure you're up to it?" Harry asked. Last month, Hermione couldn't even bring herself to enter the cemetery, instead staying in the church while Harry held her.

"Yeah. I think I should go, too."

"I'll go with you," Luna suddenly piped up.

All three stared at her. 

"I want to visit my mother's grave," she said. 

"Well, we better get going, then. We'll see you, Dobby. Tell Winky we say "hello"."

"Dobby will do that, sirs and misses! Good-bye!"

~

~ 

~ 

~

"You're assigned to go with us?" Harry asked incredulously, staring up at the towering form of Snape.

"Don't sound so enthused, Harry, Snape will think you want him to go," Tonks said sarcastically, grinning at him. She was standing next to Snape, her fingers laced around her wand. Remus stood next to her.

"It's just us three, Harry," Remus said. "But then, we weren't expecting you to bring Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. We thought it would just be you and your aunt. You do know, Miss Lovegood, that your father is elsewhere on business?"

"I know," Luna said. "Professor Lupin—ouch!"

She suddenly grasped her side.

"What's wrong, Luna?" Ron asked.

"Just a stitch," Luna said, waving her hand. "I wasn't hit by a heliopath, if that's what you're thinking."

Ginny shook her head. She and Neville had joined the group after the four had arrived in the common room, bearing the news of their visit. "Luna, sometimes I just don't get you."

"Were you going to tell me something, Luna?" Remus asked.

"Oh, no, it's not important," she said, waving her hand.

"If you're sure. Well, then, grab hold." He put his hands on a statue, and the others followed suit.

And they were jerked along through the Portkey towards the cemetery at the Church of St. Mungo.

~ 

~ 

~ 

~

It was cool, and occasionally a chilly wind blasted through their cloaks. But the sun was bright, warming their backs and necks, and distorting their view of the graveyard.

They entered quietly, the only sounds the crunching of fallen leaves and grass, and the last few birds singing from the trees surrounding the area.

They split up to visit individual graves.

Harry wound up first in front of his parent's graves. He had never found the opportunity to come here, having stayed in the church with Hermione the previous time, so this was his first glimpse of their graves.

He crouched down in front of them. They were directly side by side, their gravestones bearing the Gryffindor symbol. Written underneath the lion were their epitaphs.

"James Richard Potter. Born March 21st, 1961. Died October 31st, 1989," he read under his breath. "Beloved son, husband, father, and friend."

Beneath the writing was a picture of his father. He knew that the wizarding world put the best picture of the deceased with the headstone, and he peered closer.

James was riding his broomstick, holding on with one hand. In his other arm he held a bundle of blankets, just barely revealing the tuft of black hair that was Harry. Holding onto the back of him, the wind blowing her hair off her face, was Lily.

He turned away from the picture and set his eyes on his mother's grave.

"Lillian Nicole Potter. Born July 14th, 1961. Died October 31st, 1989." So Lily was a Cancer, just like he was, with a birthday only 8 days prior to his, the 22nd. "Beloved daughter, wife, mother, and friend."

He supposed that either someone had overlooked the fact that she had a sister, or they had been told not to put it there.

The picture below showed Lily surrounded by her friends, who were throwing confetti in the air. She was blushing and holding newborn Harry, while James kissed her cheek.

Harry jumped suddenly when he felt a hand graze his shoulder. He looked up to see Petunia standing over him.

"I've found your uncle and cousin's graves," she said. "I suppose it's too much to ask for you to see them with me?"

"I think it'd be better if we went separately," he said through gritted teeth. He didn't feel that her grief and his confused relief would mix too well. 

He pointed towards Lily's grave. "Look at that, Aunt Petunia. "Daughter, wife, mother, friend". It doesn't say "Sister"."

"My parents were already dead, and I hadn't spoken to her for 10 years. I think everyone forgot she had a sister." She smiled bitterly. "No more."

She pulled out her wand, a 10 ½ inch Beech wand with a unicorn tail hair, the spoon attachment removed. She pointed to the stone inbetween the comma and the word "mother".

"_Enscriban_," she muttered.

The wand emitted a gold ball from its tip, and Harry watched as words were pushed aside as "Sister" was suddenly embossed on the stone.

She tapped the ground inbetween the two graves and muttered "_Hanawa_". Several pale lilies and violet petunias sprouted out from the ground.

"I saw your friend Hermione do it to the graves she was at and decided to try it myself. You can guess why I chose to plant lilies and petunias."

Harry suddenly felt his throat close up.

"I'll be on my way now," Petunia said, slowly backing away, then turning and leaving.

Harry stared after her until her felt someone else's hand on his shoulder. He leaned his head sideways and back to see Hermione. Her eyes were red, and thin, pink streaks marked where tears had run down her cheeks.

"You okay?" they asked simultaneously, and then laughed bitterly at their chorus.

"Your mother was pretty," Hermione said as she crouched, looking at the two pictures at the foot of either gravestone. "And it is absolutely terrifying to see how much you look like your father."

"If I had a Knut for every time someone said that, I'd never need to work in my life," Harry said.

"I don't look much like either of my parents, either set of them," Hermione said. "You could say I have Belle's hair, but mine's thicker and curlier." She sighed. "I still would so like to torture them for what they did to Mum and Dad. I'd learn an Unforgiveable if I had to. Yes, I'm very aware of the legality, or lack thereof, of those curses, but I just don't care. You feel the same way about Pettigrew, don't you, Harry?"

"Yeah." Harry's face suddenly warmed with anger. Just thinking of that pathetic little man made his fingers itch to choke something…strangle it…kill it…

His scar suddenly exploded with pain. He had a fleeting vision of cloaked, masked figures…a skull and snake. 

"HARRY!"

Hermione grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Harry, your eyes went red…you looked like you were going to strangle me! Harry, is it…?"

"It's Voldemort," he said, loudly, firmly, so clear that everyone in the graveyard heard him and stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him, horrorstruck. "He's sending something…Death Eaters. I saw Death Eaters. They're headed for us."

Luna gave a small gasp. "Harry—ah!"

She was on the ground, clutching her ankle.

"I tripped," she said in explanation. "Harry, we should go. Now."

"No time, they're—GET DOWN!"

He grabbed Hermione and forced her onto the ground, and the others hit the deck as a stream of green light suddenly soared over the graveyard, inches away from where Ginny's head had been just a second earlier.

Tonks whipped out her wand from where she had stuck it in her pocket. Her entire expression, her whole body language, had gone from its usual cheerful, humorous mood to a rigid vigilance, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Lupin jumped up too, brandishing his wand, and Snape was soon to follow. In their current mood, no one noticed that he had moved in front of Petunia, with the fierce protective attitude of a guard dog.

Remus raised his wand. He seemed to be focusing in on something. His eyes narrowed and he breathed in deeply. It was almost like he was sniffing something out.

"Tonks," he whispered.

"Got it," she answered. 

"On three. One…two…three!"

"_STUPEFY_!" they screamed together.

Identical red beams exploded from the tips of their wands into the surrounding woods, and there was a howl of indignation and surprise.

"10 of them. 8 now, we just took out two of them," Remus said. "They're trying to stay hidden."

Snape grimaced, and pointed his wand directly at a tree. "_Colloportus_!"

The tree blew backwards and apart, just as a shadowy figure ran from behind it to behind another tree.

"There!" Remus shouted, pointing his wand.

Harry whipped out his own wand, aimed it, and a split second before the words left Remus's lips, he screamed, "_COLLOPORTUS_!"

A shout of agony was heard, followed by a sickening thud and crunch.

"They have to come out now; they can't ignore that," Tonks said. "You six," she waved her hand in the general direction of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. "Start heading for the Portkey. If you see a Death Eater, run. Don't attack except to defend. KEEP YOUR WANDS OUT. Go…NOW!"

Ginny and Neville took off first, both grabbing their wands. Ron grabbed Luna's arm and hoisted her up, and they jogged backwards, watching the forest, keeping their wands pointed directly at the trees.

"Hermione, go," Harry said, grabbing her shoulder and tugging her.

She wrenched herself free. "No."

"Hermione!"

"I know that Aaron and Belle are there. I just know it. I'm going to stay right here and kill them."

"Hermione, come on!"

"No!"

"Fine! I'm staying here, too! You're not going to die while I run!"

"They're here!" Tonks screamed, as the first figure left the safety of the forest, followed by two more.

"Ginny, run!" Ron shouted, catching up with his sister and giving her a shove. "Get to Hogwarts!"

"Ginny! Tell Professor Dumbledore—AAAAHH!" Luna screamed.

She suddenly fell to the ground. A gash appeared on her back calve, blood oozing out as muscle was exposed to the sun.

"Luna!" Ron screeched, skidding to a stop and running back to her. Blood was coloring the grass around her. "What'd they hit you with?" 

Luna shook her head wildly.

Ron swore so badly that Ginny and Neville nearly stopped in their tracks. He pointed his wand at a Death Eater just leaving the forest and screamed, "_BOMITUS_!"

The Death Eater suddenly stood rigid. He shook convulsively, then dropped to the ground. Retching sounds were heard, as a disgusting mix of brown and white poured from his mouth.

"IDIOT!" Tonks screamed.

Ron ignored her. He was looking at his wand.

"I've never done that before. I've only read about it…"

"Ron, come on!" Ginny yelled from twenty feet away. "Hurry! _Stupefy_!" she screamed, along with Neville, as a Death Eater advanced towards them.

"Luna, can you move?"

Luna picked herself up delicately. "Ron, I—GAH!"

She fell to the ground again, this time holding her arm. A deep cut was appearing at the crease of her elbow. The blood from her leg was still pouring out at an alarming rate.

Without hesitation, Ron swooped her up, one arm under her knees, the other arm supporting her back. Unable to mask her surprise with her face, Luna sat in silence as Ron bore her on towards the Portkey.

~

~ 

~ 

~

"_COLLOPORTUS_!!" Harry screamed, pointing his wand at a Death Eater.

"_Protego_!" the Death Eater screamed in a female voice, and the jinx bounced off her. She brandished her wand. "_Cru_—"

"_Finite Incantatem_!" Hermione yelled.

The woman was blown off her feet and sent flying through the air. In a blur, Harry wondered why she hadn't exploded like the Bludger in second year. Reasoning that it was harder to blow up a person than a ball, he looked over to the woman Death Eater.

Her mask and hood had blown off with the force of the attack, and Harry saw a tall woman with curly, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and deep blue eyes.

Hermione strode over to the woman, stopping 5 feet from her.

"Why, hello, Belle, I was just talking about you."

Belle picked up her wand, but Hermione anticipated it.

"_Immobulous_!"

Britney suddenly froze. The only parts of her still moving were blinking eyelids.

"I heard that you did this to my mother. Not fun, is it, to lose control of your body? Can't talk, can't move…can't even scream."

Hermione brought her wand down, and the last words Harry expected to ever pass her lips rang through the graveyard in a deadly, clear voice.

"_Crucio_."

Belle began to shake uncontrollably as the curse hit her. She looked like she was trying to scream but couldn't.

"I heard you laugh when you did this to her. Hysterical, isn't it? An absolute riot. _Crucio_."

Belle's back arched a millimeter. The expression on her face was of such anguish that Harry almost felt sorry for her.

"You're going to feel what she went through, trying to prevent you from getting to me. _Crucio_."

A small moan escaped Belle's mouth. Her eyes screwed up, and red blood began to stream out from inbetween her closed lips.

"Hermione, that's enough!" Harry leaped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back. "Stop it!"

"She deserves it!" Hermione screamed. "She did this to my mother while my father had to watch! She's getting her due!"

"Hermione, I…said…STOP!!" Harry finally managed to wrestle her wand from her grasp.

Another voice, from so far away, yelled, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

"HARRY!" Hermione shoved him down as a flash of green light soared over them. A devilish curse escaped the lips of the Death Eater.

"It was too far away; we could dodge it!" Hermione gasped. She grabbed her wand from Harry's hand.

"ARE YOU DEAF???!!! I SAID "GET TO THE PORTKEY"!!!!" Tonks's voice screeched from the east, as brilliant colors shot from several wands at once.

"Hermione, get going!" Harry yelled, grabbing her by her robes and tossing her back.

"You're coming, too! Both of you!"

"Both—"

"_Accio Belle Granger_!"

The Death Eater soared through the air as Hermione kept her wand pointed at her. With her free hand, Hermione felt for Harry's arm. As she felt it, she hooked her fingers around it and dragged him backwards, towards the Portkey. The last they saw of the battle was Tonks shouting something and her wand letting out a gold stream.

~ 

~ 

~

~

"Remus, look out!" Tonks shrieked.

Remus ducked just in time to miss an attack. He waved his wand and yelled, "_Colloportus_!" The Death Eater howled as he was sent flying backwards and slammed against a tree.

Furiously, another Death Eater whipped out his wand.

Tonks saw this and jumped out of the way just as the Death Eater yelled, "_Crucio_!"

The impending green light shot forward, heading for a new target.

Petunia.

Remus, Tonks, and Snape watched as it shot towards her, seemingly in slow motion. There was no time. They couldn't do anything except watch as her eyes widened in horror and shock, as she tried to steel herself for the blast.

There was a crunch of grass beneath shoes as someone took off.

There were two screams, one of horror and one of agony.

Snape had taken the hit.

~ 

~

~ 

~ 

Remus flung his hand, wand pointed, towards the Death Eater. "_Stupefy_!"

The Death Eater suddenly froze. His eyes, though not visible, glazed over, and his mind went blank. What was he doing here?

"Severus!" Petunia screeched, catching him before he could sink to the ground. "Severus, are you okay? Speak to me! Oh, God, not you, too…"

"I'm not dead, Petunia," Snape muttered through gritted teeth, trying to pick himself up. He paused tensely for a moment, and then stood up, looking slightly nauseous.

"Look out!" Tonks yelled, and both of them dodged another attack.

"Get going!" Remus yelled. "Get back to the Portkey, both of you!"

Snape grabbed the collar of Petunia's robes and shoved her in the direction of the Portkey. Her arms flew wildly and she took hold of his own robes.

"Come with me!" she hissed, and began to pull him backwards.

"Keep going, keep going!" Remus shouted, jogging backwards, Tonks at his side.

Petunia half-dragged Snape back. He seemed to be unwilling to go, his eyes focused on the Death Eater who had attacked. You could see a rage building up in his face, like he wanted to attack…and kill.

Petunia grabbed hold of the Portkey and they were jerked from view, closely followed by Remus and Tonks. Someone muttered something, and as the four of them were thrown onto the floor of Hogwarts, the Portkey sealed itself up and dissolved into thin air.

~ 

~

~

The four lay gasping on the floor for a few seconds.

"If that wasn't the worse time for a Death Eater attack…" Tonks muttered, the first to pick herself up. "This is just perfect. Severus, they know that you're on our side now, unless they are THAT thick."

"Spying was getting risky, anyway," Severus muttered, picking himself up and absent-mindedly hoisting Petunia with him.

Remus stood up just as someone rounded the corner. They were staring into the panicking face of Ginny Weasley.

"Professors, Mrs. Dursely, Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office, quick! Hermione brought back a Death Eater!"

"Genius apparently isn't constant," Snape muttered.

"It was her mother, Belle!" Ginny yelled, smarting at the insult to her friend. "Anyway, you'd better get there quick, Belle's putting up a fight!"

Tonks was the first to take off, followed by Remus, Snape, and Petunia. Ginny led the way towards Dumbledore's office.

She stopped at the gargoyle and breathed the words "Sugar Quill". The gargoyle moved, and the five of them charged upstairs.

It was a strange sight to behold. Dumbledore and Moody were holding down a struggling Belle, while McGonagall shielded Hermione from the view of her mother. Harry and Ron had both her shoulders, trying to force her back.

Tonks whipped her wand around and said, "_Descansas_!"

A soft blue light shot from her wand and hit Britney. All of a sudden the twisting woman sat still. Her expression relaxed, and she sagged in her seat.

Dumbledore stepped backward, but Moody kept Belle pinned down by the shoulders.

"Miss Granger, please calm yourself or I'll have to place you in detention for a month," McGonagall said tiredly. "I assure you, you will have the time to confront Mrs. Granger later."

Hermione glared at Belle, but calmed down.

"Professor Snape, do we have any Veritaserum?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Unfortunate. There's so much I want to get from her. Such as who the traitor is."

"The only traitor here is Snape!" Belle exploded, pointing an accusing finger at aforementioned professor. "He's been betraying us all along, hasn't he, all for that Mudblood waste over there!" She turned her finger towards Petunia.

Snape yanked out his wand and pointed it at Belle. "One more word, Granger."

"Severus, do keep your temper, please," Minerva said, begging.

"She can remain imprisoned with us for a month," Dumbledore said placidly. "That won't be a problem."

"I hope you die in prison," Hermione snarled, staring straight at Britney. "The bowels of Hell are too good for you!"

"Hermione, please…" Harry begged.

"Alastor, if you would please escort Mrs. Granger here to the dungeons," Dumbledore said. "Severus, I'm afraid we'll have to find another room for your class. The Room of Requirement should suffice."

"This way, Granger," Moody growled. "_Incarcerus_." He led the bound Death Eater from the room.

"And now, Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore said, turning to her. "From what Harry has said, it appears you used the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse?"

"I don't deny it," Hermione said fiercely. "In fact, I used it three times."

"You're not gonna throw her in prison, are you?" Ron yelped suddenly.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm not. And she will not be expelled or suspended. In fact, I am amazed that she was able to perform it. I must ask, however, that she abstain from doing it again. If someone besides us sees her doing it, I won't be able to prevent her from being incarcerated. Can you do that, Miss Granger?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "If I see Aaron…I don't know if I can."

"I see. Well, then, at least abstain from it for the time being, and we can continue this discussion at a better time."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Very good, very good. And, Mr. Weasley, I'd prepare yourself for owls. The attack will be reported soon, and I feel your mother will be sending a great deal of mail."

Ron snorted. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, yes, and Miss Lovegood was sent up to the hospital wing, if you wish to see her. You may all leave now," Dumbledore said, waving his hand towards the door.

Petunia, Tonks, Snape, Remus, Ginny, Neville, and Ron were the first to leave, followed closely by Hermione, but Harry stopped in the doorway.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"The Cruciatus Curse…are there times when it's forgivable?"

"That, I suppose, relies on the user's point of view. I can understand Hermione Granger's perspective."

"There are times when you want to use it, aren't there? Take me, whenever I hear "Pettigrew" or "Bellatrix", I want to kill something."

There was silence, then— "I understand completely, Harry. When I think of 13-year-old Oleta Kelly Clark, top student in the school, and 81-year-old Oleta Dumbledore, locked in St. Mungo's…I understand perfectly. As I said to Tom Riddle in June, merely killing him would not satisfy me enough. And speaking of last June, Harry, we haven't talked about the prophecy in a while."

"It's all right, I don't need to," Harry said, holding up his hand. "The way I see it, Trelawney made a crackpot prediction and some Death Eater was fool enough to fall for it. Nothing is for sure and certain anymore, Professor. I can't rely on the fact that it was for real. However, I understand that whether it was predestined or not, I'm a part of this war and I'm going to play it out."

"You understand that I thought I was acting for the best by keeping this from you?"

"At first I was angry enough to kill you," Harry admitted. "But now…I don't know. I was wallowing in self-pity, I guess. Sirius would've given me a good smack upside the head if he knew. I'm not the only one who's lost people they care about. Hermione's parents, Ron's brothers…your wife."

"…Very well, then. I suggest you get off to bed now. Tomorrow, as you most likely realize, is Monday, with a 4-hour Charms lesson, and Defense Against The Dark Arts lesson equal in time. I understand Professor Tonks is very rigorous in her training program."

"Good. That's perfect. Good night, Professor."

"Good night, Harry."

~

~

~

~

~

That closes chapter 9! Wow, 33 pages! I amazed!

I like that last scene. Most people have Harry act like "Kill-that-evil-old-stupid-BLEEP-called-Dumbledore" but I wanted to make it so Harry understood that he's not the only person who's lost someone, thus I put Oleta and Hermione's parents into the story.

I keep thinking that I'm overplaying Hermione's anger at her parents. Does anyone else think so, or is it okay?


	10. The New DA

Disclaimer-Here is a list of things I own:

Spells: _Enscriban_-writing charm. _Hanawa_-gardening charm. _Bomitus_-tuberculosis/projectile vomiting curse. _Descansas_-calming charm

Characters: Gibson Aldo, Bernice Amherst (AKA Bennie), Linda Applegate, Livia Applegate, Marie Applegate, Elizabeth Attison, Mary Barnegate, Ann Berkley, Anita Beylea, Emmanuela Chestnut, Corrine Colgate, Thomas Dover, Amy Lloyd, Tony Michelle, Elise Neptune, Christina Park, Noah Spruce, Joan Sunset, Maria Tilton, Lynn Windward

Side Characters: Lydia Attison, Michelle Attison, Marie Applegate, Kelly Applegate, Denise Applegate, Clifford Applegate

Shoutouts:

Ronsgirl33-Maybe…maybe not…BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

BferBear-I wanted to make things more up-to-date, so I worked out this whole complicated thing…I won't bore you with it. Let's just say 6th years are 16 in the year 2004, and you can figure out the rest yourself.

The New D.A

"Hello, class, and welcome to Defense Against The Dark Arts."

Tonks absentmindedly twirled her wand between her fingers as she spoke. A class larger than any other Defense class prior to it was watching her every move.

"In case you missed my grand entrance at the feast, I'm Professor Tonks. I am also an Auror for the Ministry of Magic."

Draco snorted.

"I heard that, Draco," Tonks said, not even glancing at him. "I know that my amazing youthful powers make me seem a schoolgirl, but as you know, being my cousin, I'm 24 and proud of it."

Harry gave a little gasp. He had completely forgotten that Tonks's mother was Draco's aunt.

Draco leaned over and whispered something to Goyle.

"I heard that as well, dearest cousin Draco. As for the rumor that I am currently dating Remus Lupin, I say: bite me, it's none of your business. 5 points from Slytherin for discussing my personal life without the brains to do it behind my back. Keep it up and I'll be forced to tell them stories about your amazing stuffed pink bunny, Mr. Snufflelopolus."

Draco's face wet bright pink. Ron was laughing so loudly he nearly fell off his seat.

"Now, on to Defense Against The Dark Arts." Tonks went around her desk, planted her palms on it, and hoisted herself up so that she sat on it. She leaned forward slightly, hands folded in her lap. "I don't want to scare any of you, but if you haven't heard the news yet, there was a Death Eater attack yesterday."

There was a collective gasp, and murmuring broke out between groups of friends.

"A Death Eater was captured, and no one was killed. However, one of our side was hit by the Cruciatus Curse, which I'm sure you all remember from 2 years ago, when it was performed by our own impostor Professor Moody. I don't know if he used it on you, but understand that it is so incredibly painful that the victims practically beg for death."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione stiffen slightly. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"She deserved it," Hermione whispered.

"I understand," he whispered back. His eyes shot to Neville. The Longbottom boy was staring straight ahead, his hands folded so tightly that his fingertips were red.

"Also, a Death Eater tried to kill two of our own with Avada Kedavra," Tonks continued. "Luckily, he was too far away, and they were able to dodge it. Avada Kedavra is a curse that needs a lot of power and absolutely no room with which the victim can dodge it for it to work. This is a case where keeping your friends close and your enemies closer is not a good idea."

There were nervous giggles throughout the room.

"Those two, along with the Imperious Curse, which can force someone to do whatever they're told, are the Unforgivables. But Death Eaters don't care to be forgiven, do they? They have no problems with using them. However, since your parents do, I'm not here to show you how to use them. I am here to show you how to block them."

There was a bubble of whisperings, and Tonks raised her hand for silence.

"There is no known protection against Avada Kedavra, unless someone takes the hit for you, as in the case of Lily Potter, Harry's mother." The class's eyes swept to Harry, and then went back to Tonks. "I understand you have some practice with fighting the Imperious Curse, but that was cut short, and that you have no practice dealing with the Cruciatus Curse. Is that right?"

There was a soft assent.

"All right. Now, we will be practicing defenses against the Imperious Curse in the second half of all my classes until our entire class can properly protect themselves. Afterwards we will advance to the Cruciatus Curse. The first half will be spent using other defensive spells. Later on this year you'll learn offensive spells. The statement to know this year: Defense is the best offense, and offense is the best defense. Know this, love this, make this your friend."

There were giggles from some of the girls.

"All righty then. I imagine you are out of practice, due to my predecessor, Dolores Umbridge. I've had the misfortune of having to work with her within 50 yards of myself, so I understand your pain." A girl snorted. "I don't expect your wands to be in tip-top condition, but I do expect them to be so at the end of this year." 

She clapped her hands and jumped off her desk. 

"Right. First on our agenda are Patronuses. Most people think that these are useful only against Dementors. True, they work best against Dementors, but they are also extremely useful against wizards. They have a certain knack for weakening an opponent's wand power. Who besides Harry can conjure a Patronus? A real Patronus?"

Hermione raised her hand, thinking of her otter, and someone else raised their hand. Harry turned to see Cho. 

But she looked different than when she last saw him. Her face was even more drawn in than just after Cedric had died, her hair limp, eyes damp and heavy.

Tonks surveyed Cho, clearly not believing her. "Who's got at least some sort of hang on it, even if it's just a little silver puff?"

Neville, Lavender, and Seamus raised their hands.

"Who knows the incantation?"

All the other D.A members raised their hands.

"All right. All of those who have no clue what to do, go over to that corner and I'll be with you shortly. Everyone who knows the incantation, try to produce one. Everyone who can get a little out of it, work on getting more. And you three." She pointed to Harry, Hermione, and Cho. "Come up here."

The class divvied up obediently. Harry, Hermione, and Cho went to Tonks.

"I need you three to do a bit of reading. Professor Snape isn't teaching right now, so the Room of Requirement is open. It's filled with books from the Ministry of Magic Library, and I need you to look up information on the Unforgivables. A huge point of this class is to find ways to counter or block them. You know how to get in, so get going. I'll see you guys in 4 hours for the D.A. meeting."

"Yes, ma'am," Cho said nicely, and the three proceeded out of the room.

"So, you two are…together now?" Cho asked delicately.

Hermione looked up from her copy of Combating the Dark Arts. Harry stopped in the midst of pulling a book from the shelf.

"Yeah…yeah, we are," he said evenly.

"Oh, um, I see."

"May I inquire why you ask?"

"It was just gossip I heard from Luna Lovegood. You know she fancies your friend Ron, right?"

"Yes, we know, and don't change the subject," Hermione said, shutting the book, her finger marking the page.

"I was just asking," Cho said defensively.

Harry sighed. "Cho, you know that all chances of us being together are over now, right?"

"Of course I know!" she yelled. "It's so obvious, the way you hang all over her!"

Harry turned on her, eyes flashing. "Don't talk that way about Hermione."

"Of course, darling Hermione, it's always been about her, even on our first date all you could talk about was her!"

"So? You were talking about Cedric the whole time!"

Cho inclined her head drastically, eyes snapping fire. "That is different. Very, very different, Harry."

"Yes, but even so, I don't think reliving past loves is a good thing to do on a first date!"

Cho's mouth formed a very thin line. All of a sudden, Harry felt like slapping both her and himself.

"The reason I can make a Patronus is because my happy memory is the very first time he kissed me. That's not something you can easily drop, now, is it? It is very difficult losing the love of your life, and moving on is even harder."

She opened the book in her lap and turned her face to look at it. She began speaking into the book.

"Before I die, I would like to find the Death Eater who killed him, and destroy him."

"Wouldn't we all like to. The one who killed him is the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort."

"Sirius Black?"

"No."

"But—"

"Sirius was framed, he was completely innocent, and he died trying to save my life. Peter Pettegrew was the traitor, he was the one who killed Cedric, and he…is the one I want to kill first."

"Hmm." Cho looked up. "Mind if I join you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Revenge is sweet when it is shared with someone else. Much like chocolate. I want a piece of him before I go out. Mind sharing the satisfaction?"

Harry stared at her for a moment. Then, he grinned and shrugged. 

"Why not?"

"If you're both quite finished, we have some reading to do," Hermione said, opening her book again.

Harry found the book he had been taking out. Cho buried her face in her book again, and there was peaceful silence in the room, except for the occasional groan of "This book is useless!"

"Find anything?" Ron asked.

"Nope, nothing," Harry said. He, Hermione, and Cho were back in the Defense classroom, while other students were packing up their stuff and making to leave. "Wasted four hours."

"All D.A. members, please stay in here!" Tonks yelled over the din.

"Well, we didn't," Ron said. "We spent two hours on the Patronuses, and another two working on the Imperius Curse. We've got some pretty stubborn girls in this class, this girl Corrine's at the same level as Harry was when he started. And our Patronuses are great, too. I've finally conjured one. It's a dead rat." He grinned.

"How'd Luna do?" Cho asked slyly.

Ron didn't catch the tone. His face dropped. "She's the exception. She's having a horrible time of it. Look, she's still trying."

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Luna yelled. Nothing came out of her wand. She tried again. This time, a tiny silver puff came out and instantly evaporated.

"All right, people, is everybody here for the D.A.?" Tonks asked finally.

"Yeah," came from a few people. Everyone started to quiet down

"Good. Lemme see here." Tonks whipped out a piece of paper. "Just see who's here. All righty, Gryffindors: Gibson Aldo."

"Hmm-hmm." A tall, skinny, boy with black, not quite a half-fro but not a crew cut either, hair, black eyes brought down in size by his rounded-rectangular black-framed glasses, yellowing skin, and very muscular arms, looked up.

Tonks went on like this until she ended Gryffindor, then went on to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and to everyone's surprise, Slytherin.

The Gryffindors were, of course, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Colin and Dennis Creevy, Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Seamus Finnigin, as Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Fred and George Weasley, and Lee Jordan had graduated/dropped out the previous year. Besides Gibson, there were 5 girls and another boy.

Bernice Amherst, or Bennie as she preferred to be called, was about Hermione's height. Her hair was orange-red, extremely straight, pulled into a high ponytail with one long bang coming down the side of her face, not quite contrasting to her pinkish face. She had inquisitive hazel eyes that looked at everything around her.

Marie Applegate was tall, towering over everyone except for Tony and Thomas, who were taller than she was. Her hair was thick, dark brown, and reached ¾ down her neck, framing her face. Her eyes were dark brown, contrasting her extremely pale skin.

Ann Berkley was Bennie's height, also with red hair, but hers was pure red and hung loose to her shoulders. She looked so much like a Weasley, she'd could've been the lost Weasley daughter. Her eyes were blue, staring out amiably from her freckled, yellowed skin.

Corrine Colgate was inbetween Bennie's and Marie's height. She was extremely skinny, skinny enough to be knocked over with a feather. She had black hair cut in a boy's hairstyle and striking green eyes, with small, red-and-gold framed glasses covering the top half of her face. Her face was slightly darker than the rest of her, mostly because of her hair. 

Another girl was Christina Park. Her corkscrew-curl hair was brown with blond highlights along her scalp, and it reached to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were cloudy blue, and her skin was pale. She was shorter than Bennie, but not by much, and skinny as well.

The last girl, Lynn Windward, was very short, the same size as Colin when he was a first year. Her chin-length hair was almost black but not quite. Her brown eyes were shining out from her tanned skin, even through her oval-shaped, purple-framed glasses. She was skinny, and brown freckles dotted the apples of her cheeks and her nose.

As for Hufflepuff, Ernie MacMillan, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Susan Bones were back. Harry was not surprised to see that Zacharias Smith hadn't returned. There were 7 new Hufflepuffs, 5 girls and 2 boys. 

Linda Applegate, Marie's cousin and oldest friend, was Harry's height. Her hair was black, and reached halfway down her back in a ponytail. Her eyes were the same shade as her hair. Her skin was very pale, almost yellow, and her frame was very skinny.

Livia Applegate was another cousin of Marie and Linda's. Her eyes were a very dark chocolate brown. Her hair was long and dirty blonde, and her skin was the color of desert dust. She was also about Hermione's height.

Mary Barnegate was about Bennie's height. Her hair was the same as Marie's, except it hung loose all the way down her back, tangling in upon itself, and blending with her pale, yellow-ish skin. Her eyes matched Marie's, too.

Emmanuela Chestnut was the shortest of the lot, even smaller than Lynn and Dennis. She had brown hair with blonde highlights coming haphazardly at the tips of her hair. Brown eyes were hidden beneath round, red-and-gold-framed glasses, making her slightly browned face look sharp. 

The first new Hufflepuff boy was Thomas Dover. He was taller and ganglier than everyone there, including Ron. His curly hair was brown and cropped. Icy-blue eyes were hidden against his Caucasian skin through oval-shaped, black-framed glasses. 

With him was Amy Lloyd, his girlfriend. She was shorter than him, about Marie's height. Her hair was just normal brown, neither dark nor light. Her eyes were a bright and shining light brown, and her skin was lightly tanned.

The only other boy Hufflepuff was Noah Spruce. He was also Bennie's height, with dirty-brown colored hair leading halfway down his back in an 80's rat tail. A small mustache, the same color of his hair, was growing on his tan upper lip. He had light brown eyes that stared at everything around him. 

Tonks read off the names of the Ravenclaws as well. Of course, Cho and Luna were there, and to Harry's relief Marietta was not. Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Michael Corner were there, too. There were two new Ravenclaws. 

Anita Beylea was slightly shorter than Marie. She had messy brown hair, which shone with lighter brown, natural highlights in the light and hung to her shoulder blades. She also had friendly brown eyes that shone out from her olive brown skin. 

The second Hufflepuff boy, Tony Michelle, as the girls were calling him, had brown hair with orange highlights, cut in the same style as Gibson's, and slightly tanned skin. He towered over everybody except Thomas, but his brown eyes did not reveal any intent to intimidate.

And then there were the only four Slytherins to ever have joined. One was Elizabeth Attison, whom they had last seen at the feast. Her blonde hair had been pulled back in a braid, leaving her hazel-green eyes free to be seen. She was around Marie's height, and her face was pink, contrasting to her white skin.

Another was Elise Neptune. Her black hair was comprised of corkscrew curls, like Christina's. Her eyes were dark chocolate brown, and her skin was hot cocoa-colored.

Yet another was Joan Sunset. Her eyes were dark blue, her skin was pale, and her shining brown hair was pulled back in a perfect ponytail. She was slightly taller than Maria, and pretty skinny as well. 

The last girl was named Maria Tilton. Her hair was long and brown, reaching a point inbetween Mary's and Anita's, with blonde highlights spaced far from each other. Her eyes were green-blue, too, contrasting her pale-ish skin.

"All right, that's 19 Gryffindors, 11 Hufflepuffs, 8 Ravenclaws, and 4 Slytherins," Tonks said. "Coming to the grand total of 42 D.A. members."

"14 more than last year," Hermione said proudly.

"Good, we need them," Tonks said. "Now, here's what the whole point of the D.A. is. You are here because you want further training against Voldemort, so that if you meet him, you can use offensive spells. You'd've learned this before the end of this year anyway, but you'll learn before everyone else, and you'll all have time in class to practice or sleep or whatever it is you do when you're not busy while someone else is."

Lynn giggled.

"All right, you guys've been practicing Patronuses for the past couple hours. I just wanna see you do one to see where we are, and then we'll get going."

One by one, each member stepped up and produced a Patronus. There were several unexpected ones, ranging from a dead rat (Ron's) to a penguin (Marie's) to a fairy (Corrine's). Only Luna seemed to be having a problem with it.

"All right, I'll be helping you with that later, Luna," Tonks said. "And before we get down to business, there are some things we should discuss. Like the use of Unforgivables."

"I thought we're weren't gonna be using them," Lynn said, as her Patronus, a unicorn, galloped around the room. As she turned to look at Tonks, it disappeared

"We need to decide whether or not you're going to be trained to use them. I know that two of you—no names—have used the Cruciatus Curse before, and one of you made it extremely powerful. The question is, will the other 40 be learning them?"

"I don't like the idea," Tony said immediately.

"Well, personally, I think it's a good idea," Ernie interrupted. "If we're going to be face-to-face with Death Eaters, we should learn how to ultimately deal with them."

"Yeah, but those curses are still Unforgivable," Gibson said.

"It doesn't matter. They get what they have coming," Elizabeth said fiercely. "And I'll train my sisters, Lydia and Michelle, to kill off those—"

"No language, please," Tonks said, raising her hand, just as Ann said, "I'm with Elizabeth."

"Maybe we should use them as a last resort?" Marie offered.

"You can bet the Death Eaters won't use them as a last resort," Joan said bitterly.

"I don't like the idea of killing," Lavender put in. "I mean, I don't want to be like the Death Eaters."

"Yeah," Lynn said.

"I'm with Marie on the last resort thing," Bennie said.

"Yeah," Christina said, nodding her head and looking at everyone else with wide eyes.

"Hey, founders, what do you think?" Maria asked, looking over at Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Hermione was staring at her hands. After a few seconds' pause, she spoke in a low but clear voice.

"I know what it's like to use the Cruciatus Curse. I was one of the ones to use it on a Death Eater. When I was doing it to her, I felt on top of the world and in the depths of despair at the same time. I hated her, and I had vengeance to wreak on her, but while I was doing it I felt—I guess you could say, not myself. It was good and bad at the same time."

"Thanks, that helps," Elizabeth muttered.

"Be nice, Elizabeth," Marie said. Elizabeth frowned at her.

"Well, I don't think we should use them," Corrine said. "It's just like—who's she?" She pointed to Lavender, who said her name. "It's just like Lavender said. We'd be just like the Death Eaters."

"I don't care if I use an Unforgivable against them," Mary said. "They deserve it. I'm with Elizabeth."

"All right, this isn't getting us anywhere," Tonks said. "Let's just do it this way. Raise your hands if you think we should use the Unforgivables."

Ann, Mary, Ron, Susan, Ernie, Linda, Cho, Elizabeth, and Joan raised their hands.

"All right, you guys group off. How about those who think we shouldn't use them?"

Gibson, Lavender, Corrine, Parvati, Lynn, Hannah, Anita, Lydia, and Tony raised their hands, then shuffled to form their own group

"Who says last resort? And if you don't know, keep your hands down."

Bennie, Marie, Neville, Noah, Ginny, Maria, Terry, Michael, Anthony, Thomas, Amy, Christina, and Elise raised their hands and formed off into their own little group. Katie, Colin, Dennis, Seamus, Hermione, Harry, Dean, Emmanuela, Luna, and Padma were left under the "don't know" category.

"All righty, that's 13 for "Last Resort", so that's what we'll do. We won't tackle the Unforgivables for awhile. Now, onto business. I want you to divide up into pairs and practice stunning charms. That's "_Stupefy_" for those who don't know. It temporarily confuses or stuns the enemy so you can get past it. Work on that for a half hour, and we'll review for the next 15 minutes. Get it? Got it? Good."

A fairly sore D.A. crawled from the Defense room about 45 minutes later. It was time for lunch.

"So, you two are together now, right?" Marie asked, looking straight at Harry and Hermione. The Gryffindors had settled at their table, all grouping together.

"Um…yeah," Harry said slowly.

Marie grinned. "Good. I've been splitting the dorm with Hermione for 5 straight years, and I've been waiting for her to come barging in with the news that you two are dating."

Both Harry and Hermione looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Marie Applegate. 6th-year. My cat ate the phone cord."

"WHAT?!" Ron snorted.

"Marie sometimes feels the need to spout off nonsense," Lynn explained.

"The cows are in the fish," Marie said, just to prove a point, and then grinned again. "Believe it or not, I'm just as sane as you are. How could I not be, my mother, Marie, was a Ravenclaw. I was almost one, too, but I asked to be put in Gryffindor. My sister Denise was a Gryffindor, like me, and my other sister Kelly and my dad were a Hufflepuffs. Harry, that's your aunt who just came back, right?"

"Yeah."

"My dad dated her in 3rd year. Clifford Applegate and Petunia Evans, they were for awhile, until they broke up. He started dating my mom and she dated someone else."

Harry pursed his lips. So his aunt had been popular once. Somehow, that was a hard image to conjure up.

"My mom went here," Corrine said. "I think my dad's a Muggle, but I don't know. My parents are divorced."

"My mum's a witch," Lynn said. "My dad's a Muggle."

"Me too," Ann said. "My dad's the only Muggle in the family."

"And Gibson's the only wizard in his family, right, Gibson?" Marie asked.

Gibson made a noise in his throat.

"Noah's dad's a wizard, and his mom's a Muggle, right?" She addressed Noah.

"Uh-huh," Noah answered, taking a large bite from his chicken wing.

"Christina's and Mary's parents are all magical," Marie rounded off. "Well, anyway, I know everybody who's new in the D.A.; we've all been friends for years. Elizabeth and Maria are my oldest friends; I've known them since primer school. Too bad we all landed in different houses. Y'know, I wasn't worried when Elizabeth and Maria landed in Slytherin. Remember, Corrine, when we helped Elizabeth and Elise pull that prank on Malfoy?"

"Now, that was a little mean," Lynn said, whilst Corrine was nodding and smiling at the memory of locking Draco in the girl's bathroom while Myrtle was having mood swings.

"Oh, come off it, Lynn, just because you fancy him—"

Ron, who had been drinking, sprayed his pumpkin juice all across the table, earning himself disgusted squeals and glares from Lavender and Parvati.

"She WHAT?!"

"—doesn't mean it wasn't funny," Marie finished meekly.

"You-you-you…you FANCY MALFOY?!"

"Say it louder, I don't think the dead people in China heard you quite well enough," Lynn said, blushing furiously as Draco looked up from his table to see who had been yelling his name, and why.

Ron stared at her as if he was going to hurl. 

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," Noah piped up.

"That was lame, Noah," Gibson said sagely.

"I don't believe it! Are you mad?" Ron was still staring at Lynn.

"Oh, chill," Lynn said, attempting coolness but failing.

"See? I'm not the only one who thinks he's a complete waste of time," Christina said, sending a glare over to the Slytherin table. Elise saw it and looked confused, Elizabeth saw it and glared back, and Joan saw it and ignored it.

"He's cute!" Lynn whispered fiercely.

"He's a prejudiced slimeball and a pretty boy," Gibson said firmly.

"Therefore, unworthy of our notice," Marie said, smiling again.

"Luna, you all right?" Cho asked, looking down at her 5th-year peer. 

"I'm perfectly okay, thank you, Cho," Luna said, off-hand. She reached into her bag and pulled out a copy of The Quibbler.

"You're just so quiet," Cho pressed.

"And you're just so nosy," Padma snorted. The Ravenclaws had all grouped together as well. 

"Padma, be nice," Anthony said teasingly, giving his girlfriend's hand a squeeze.

Michael looked at Anthony and Padma, and then turned his eyes to Cho. She had dumped him unexpectedly over the summer. It wounded his pride above all else to be dumped by both Ginny and Cho within three months, and he wanted to know why she had chosen to ditch him.

Cho watched Michael's face as well, and sighed inwardly. She busied her hands with her fork and knife, so to keep Michael's own away from hers.

She really had rushed into something after her disastrous date with Harry. She had just wanted someone to make her feel better, when her life seemed to be going completely downhill. Since losing Cedric, she just hadn't had the will to force herself into cheeriness.

Cedric. Just the thought of him made her depressed. She really had loved him, and still did, with her entire being. Harry and Michael had both been substitute lovers.

She looked over to the Hufflepuff table at Amy, who was smiling at Thomas, and at Padma, who was kissing Anthony. She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on Harry and Hermione. Since their conversation earlier she hadn't felt the least bit jealous, but now the feeling was coming back. She wasn't jealous of anyone having Harry. She was just jealous that it seemed like everyone had someone alive and whole to be in love with.

Luna's eyes scanned the scene above The Quibbler. She was watching Cho just as thoroughly as Michael, and read her eyes like a book. Grimly, she contemplated that Cedric's death was the least of Cho's problems.

She glanced down at her arm. The scar at her elbow was now a thin red line, a remnant of the open, gaping wound that had taken an hour for Madame Pomfrey to fix. A reminder of the Death Eater's power.

Yes, she thought, and almost grimaced, past deaths were the least of everyone's worries now.


	11. Tales From This Side

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter or the song

A/N: In case anybody wonders or cares, I wrote that Wormtail killed Cedric. He did in the book, but Ms. Rowling wrote that ghost Cedric appeared from Voldemort's wand. Maybe Peter was using Voldemort's wand? Anybody got an idea? Also, I've been changing a lot of dates, facts, and wands. I like my facts the way they are but I won't interfere with anything major.

Tales From This Side

Voldemort sat in his emerald-clad chamber, in a hidden valley known as Salazar's Pit. No fool would dare venture into here. Rumors of wizards who entered and never returned had been widespread for years, even before the birth of Thomas Marvolo Riddle.

To mutterings along these lines, courtesy of his Death Eaters, Tom had replied, "They never return, do they? Then where do you suppose we get the stories from?" Dumbfounded, the Death Eaters had begged his forgiveness for their own stupidity. He had dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

This was a settlement they had built up with their own wands, and a palace surpassing the Black and Malfoy mansions combined had been built for him. He resided alone here, not bothering with anyone. The boldest of his Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange, wouldn't come here.

That was because of the pink bunnies.

Voldemort smiled to himself. Pink bunnies, where had that come from? Those were things Muggle children, dressed in a fashion they called "Goth", said they were afraid of. He must be growing senile, especially when he knew what Muggle children dressed in black clothes were calling themselves.

Speaking of inferior children.

The Harry Potter boy was beginning to gnaw on his nerves. Voldemort prided himself on his steely patience when executing plans, but he knew that his one major fault was that he hated being foiled. Especially by cocky children who were ever protected by that old fool, Albus Dumbledore.

Voldemort smiled again. How wonderful it had been to torture Oleta into insanity. The old bat had never liked him, not since she had started teaching him in 1949. She was always glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. He had hoped that the Basilisk would have gotten her first, but still, getting that annoying Myrtle had been a terrific first murder.

"Murder". It seemed such an ugly word. "Life-taking" and "killing" weren't pleasant for the ear, either. So most Death Eaters opted for "the purification of the wizard race". "Purification" was a nice word, a cleansing word.

He didn't care much. A rose by any other name, right? He simply enjoyed the intoxicating power that came with holding a person's life above their heads.

He knew that most people would think him sick and insane, and recommend shock treatments for this thought, but he didn't care much. Murder was a common part of history. Ever since the first cavemen had knocked his rival over the head with a club, mankind had just eaten up murder stories. Everyone claimed it was evil, yet it happened every day.

So, Voldemort had reasoned, the act of killing was a normal, human act, a reflex much like walking.

However, he reasoned he could pick and chose who he killed. Start of with the annoying inferiors, then hit revenge, and then just go on killing until you've had your fill of it. Break it down, organize, be a Virgo. He really didn't have anything against Mudbloods being Mudbloods, but if you wanted people to define you exactly, you might as well just chose one group to terrorize. Racism was another big part of history. 

Of course, things hadn't always gone as planned. Inferior beings, idiots with high-sounding ideas, always caused problems and injured your pride. Take Mr. Harry James Potter, and those others he had never bothered learning the names of.

Voldemort's pride was a touchy thing, and when it was injured, he was understandably angry. And he wanted revenge.

Lives were unimportant things, Voldemort reasoned. What did one or two…or even 3, 000 matter? People were like cockroaches. Kill one and another crawls out.

And killing was such a pleasure, too.

He watched as a mouse scampered across the room. Without a second thought, he whipped his wand around and the mouse exploded.

Reminding himself to call Wormtail to clean up the mess later, he settled down in an armchair and dozed. Only typical murderers stayed up all night.

Wormtail sat, drinking butterbeer, at the table in the little wood house he had clumsily built up to the jeering of Bellatrix and Lucius. Well, so what if his construction skills needed work. That wasn't the point of being a Death Eater.

And just what was the point of being a Death Eater, anyway?

He swirled his mug of butterbeer, watching as the butterscotch-colored, thick liquid made lines in upon itself, as he had nothing better to do. 

Why had he joined up in the first place? Sure, he was a pure blood, but so were James and Sirius, and they had been Order members.

James and Sirius. At the thought of those names, he cringed. James Richard Potter, Sirius Aldebaran Black, and Remus John Lupin. He had betrayed all three of them in his 43-year lifetime. The three people he had counted as his closest friends so many years ago. Two of them dead, one, he guessed, immensely depressed.

For what, he wondered. Why had he thrown away his life for Voldemort? For power? What a joke, Voldemort was the only powerful one here. For respect? Please, every single Death Eater thought him a mosquito on a gaping wound. For this "Purification" nonsense? Peter had never really cared about pure-blood or half-blood. He wouldn't have hung out with Remus if he had.

Out of fear? For all these years, that was the only reason worth staying for. Wormtail had always wandered why he had been put in Gryffindor. Perhaps he should've been in Slytherin. Even Hufflepuffs were credited with more courage than Slytherins.

And he was so afraid of leaving. He knew Voldemort put almost no value on any life besides his own, not even those of his followers. Those not loyal to him would be killed, with as much interest as he had with squashing a bug.

And returning to his old friends? They would kill him, most definitely. Remus would probably kill him before he was within 200 yards of Hogwarts. Perhaps Harry would back him up.

Harry. He had tried not to think about it, but it was horrifying how much he looked like James. In fact, when he had been first seen Harry years ago, he had almost expected James to look at him and say, "Get a move on, Wormtail, McGonagall will kill us if we're late again!"

Of course, Harry's eyes were Lily's, everyone knew that. Wormtail remembered how happy those eyes had been when Lily had married James, when all of them were 24. And again 3 years later, when Harry was born. He could barely imagine what those eyes had looked like just seconds before her death. Terrified and probably tear-filled, after all, James had just died and Harry was probably going to be killed…

He chugged his butterbeer and slammed the empty glass on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Too bad butterbeer wasn't strong. Maybe some firewhiskey would do.

Cold, cold, so cold. Dark as a cave, dry as a desert, crisp, and eerie, but above all else, cold.

She sat, curled in a fetal position, in the dark, waiting for the footsteps signaling his approach. Her body was searing with white-hot pain, pounding in her veins just as her blood did. She dug her fingers into her scalp and held her head down. Small pains got rid of big pains, she minded, as her fingernails dug into her skin.

There. There they were. Those footsteps, signaling more pain, more torture, more agony lying in wait for her.

"Hello, dearest."

She shivered, an icy blast giving her fresh goosebumps up and down her arms and legs.

"You know that I hate to do this, but it must be done. The old spell is wearing off, believe it or not. _Fidetorus_!"

She clamped her lips shut and screwed up her eyes, but no matter what she did, she still felt the torment run rampant through her. It felt like hot needles attacking her from the inside, where she couldn't defend herself. It combined with the depressing powers of the Dementors, sucking all the life force from her. It was enough to make anyone beg for death.

A small squeak escaped from between her pressed lips.

Instantly, the onset of pain stopped, leaving her with the lingering torture.

"I hope you've learned to keep your mouth shut? The more silent you are, the longer it takes for the spell to wear off. Do you understand?"

She nodded fervently, her head bobbing so that it almost hit her collar bone.

"Good. Very good, my dear. Take your leave of me."

She got up slowly, some pain still lingering in her calves. She was shaking crazily, her eyes wide open and shot through.

"Oh, that won't do. _Descansas_."

A pale blue light struck her in the arm, but the spell had no effect on her. She continued to shiver uncontrollably.

"Hmm. Well, I'm out of practice with those "good" charms, aren't I? No matter, you can calm yourself. Just leave."

Slowly at first, and then as fast as she could go, she ran, ran until she could see hide nor hair of him, towards the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

"Petunia?"

She jumped at being called by name, and turned around to see…

"Oh, Severus, you startled me."

"What in God's name are you doing up here?"

Petunia glanced out the window. She was at the top of the Astronomy tower, which was more like a balcony than anything, except on top of the school.

"Looking at the stars," she said. "There's an old legend that when a person dies, an extra star is added to the sky. And it's true," she said bitterly. "I see two more stars that I've never seen before."

"I'm…sorry," he said.

"I just haven't been sleeping for the past three nights. Those three days in the hospital I was able to sleep, but Friday, Saturday, and last night I wasn't. Every time I close my eyes I see things."

"Such as?"

"My son, my husband, Lily, Harry, you…us," she added slowly. "I remember us most of all. Maybe it's being back here, maybe it's seeing you again, I don't know, but all I can think about is how we used to be. One whole year we were together, Severus. That's long for a school romance. I was dating Vernon for six months before he proposed to me, and we got married three months later. I got married at 26 and I had Dudley at 27. I spent 17 years in Little Whinging. That's a lot to have upended less than two months."

"Understandably so." He walked towards her, stopping at the balcony ledge.

"17 years gone, and I have nothing to show for it. My family is dead, my only relative hates me, I have no career, and I split a dorm with 16-year-olds. I am pathetic."

"You're not pathetic, Petunia."

"Severus, stop trying to make me feel all right! I'm never going to be okay again! I am going to have to live with my bad judgment for the rest of my life. I'm going to have to look at myself in the mirror and see what a failure I've been to everyone, including myself. God!" Her last word was a sob.

There was a silence, and then, in a steely tone, he spoke.

"Do you think, Petunia, that you are the only one who has to live with bad judgment? If I hadn't been stupid enough to wander around the halls with you, Malfoy and the Black sisters would never have laid their hands on you. You wouldn't have left and I wouldn't have had to join Voldemort, even in espionage."

"Then we're both idiots," Petunia said, with a sardonic voice. "You, at least, didn't leave your entire world and family behind because of stubborn idiocy and self-pity."

"And you, at least, didn't have to work for the most evil wizard since Grindelwald."

They looked at each other for a long time. They were both shadowed in silhouette, the moon bringing light to only their faces.

"Sometimes it's like it was only yesterday, that we stood up here, just talking and kissing and studying for our Astronomy tests," Petunia said softly. "Sometimes…"

Her words lingered in the air for a moment as they continued to gaze at each other. Their minds were transported back 27 years, to the halcyon days of being the laughing 15-almost-16-year-olds they had been, full of school, friends, family, and dreams, not knowing where their lives were going and content with that uncertainty, because they were secure in and of themselves and those they loved.

"You never said what you were doing up here," Petunia said.

"I was looking for you. Concern was raised when you weren't anywhere to be found."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'd better be heading back downstairs, shouldn't I? I need my beauty sleep, even if I have no beauty left." She laughed. He did not.

She stopped laughing, but instead of walking towards the stairs, she continued to look at him. All of a sudden, her face fell. The eyes that had held up a brave façade sagged into the depression that was flowing with her very blood. The lines in her face showed visibly in the moon light, her mouth drooped, and her hands weighed heavy at her sides.

"Severus, please…"

"What?"

"Just…just hold me for a little while, okay? Just for two minutes. Please."

He was shocked. Petunia, the woman he hadn't seen for a score and 7 years, who had left his life on the worst possible note, who had only recently been widowed, was asking for him to comfort her for all the years lost. It was crazy, it was absurd…

He lifted his hands slightly, just enough to show her that he had given his consent.

"Thank you."

She walked slowly towards him and into his arms, wrapped her own arms around his back, leaned her head against his collar bone, and stood there for an eternal two minutes, as the last crickets of the season began to chirp and the clouds floated away, leaving only the large moon and bright stars to shine against the backdrop of the sky.

"Oh my God, Lynn, would you please stop it!" Marie yelled, throwing a pillow at the ever-pacing Lynn Queen.

Lynn dodged the pillow, picked it up off the floor, and flung it back at Marie.

"PLEASE don't tell me you're still upset about what Gibson and Ron said at lunch." Marie sat up from her lying position on the couch and hugged the pillow to her chest.

"Yeah, and over DRACO?! Please tell me that it's just a phase," Ann said.

"It's not!" Lynn said, blushing furiously.

"Oh, we have lost another to the dark side!" Corrine gasped.

"Shut up!" Lynn yelled furiously.

"Guys, lay off her, I'm thinking," Bennie muttered. She was proofreading her homework from the floor.

"Lay off what?"

The portrait hole swung open and Hermione walked in the room.

"The girls are teasing Lynn for liking Malfoy," Ginny said distractedly. She was immersed in her Transfiguration book, studying for the O.W.L.'s that seemed so much closer this side of summer.

Hermione bit her lip, unsure of whether or not to reprimand the girls as part of her prefect's duty, even if Malfoy was a slimy, sleazy son of a…but Hermione wouldn't go that route.

"Why DO you like him, anyway?" Harry asked. He and the other boys had retreated to a corner of the room away from the girls, who had spread themselves out all over the floor of the Gryffindor common room, which had been nicknamed the "Lion's Den".

"I don't know why, I just do!" Lynn yelped.

"Let's look at all the things girls generally go for in boys," Marie said, waving her wand. Words began to form in mid-air. "Let's see. Intelligent. Let's give him half a point for that."

".5" appeared next to the word "Intelligent".

"Funny. Nope."

An "x" crossed over the word "Funny".

"How about "Good-looking"?"

"Another "x" for that," Ann laughed, sending an "x" through "Good-looking".

"Rich. Well, we can give him that."

A check mark appeared next to the word "Rich".

"And "single". He's dating that cow Pansy Parkinson, so nothing there." "Single" was crossed out. "Out of a possible 5 points, he received a measly, embarrassing, humiliating, kick-yourself-in-your-own-stupidity 1.5. He IS the weakest link, good-bye!" Marie squawked.

"You are such a dork, Marie," Corrine said.

"Hey, this dork beat all of you out in the History of Magic O.W.L.…and that was a bad comeback," Marie said, grinning in mock self-deprecation.

"And you, missy, where have you been?" Corrine asked, looking at Hermione. "Been snogging that boyfriend of yours?"

Hermione's face turned pink. "No!"

"Where is Harry, anyway?" Bennie asked, looking up from her homework.

"He's still in the Room of Requirement, looking up on the Unforgivables. Some of the others are with him."

"Hey, we should be there, too," Marie said, putting the pillow aside. "I haven't seen Thomas or Amy for a while, anyway."

"Yeah, and let's hit up the Badger's Hole, the Eagle's Nest, and the Snake's Pit on our way there," Ann said. "The whole D.A. should be in this."

"Guys, move your butts," Lynn called. "We're going to the Room of Requirement."

There was much muttering amongst the guys as they picked themselves up reluctantly.

"Mudblood-lovers! Blood traitors! Shame of the wizarding race! How dare you besmirch the noble house of Salazar Slytherin! How dare you—"

"SHUT UP!!" Elizabeth yelled, throwing her Study of Ancient Runes book at one of the portraits, labeled Cassiopeia Black, in the Snake's Pit, AKA the Slytherin common room. Cassiopeia screeched loudly and disappeared. 

"Thanks, Elizabeth, she was getting on my nerves," Maria said from her spot on the couch. Elise was sitting beside her, braiding Joan's hair. Joan was siting on the floor, reading her Arithmancy book.

"Her words are like music to my ears," a silky voice said, and Draco appeared from the stairs.

"Then you're tone-deaf," Elizabeth answered nastily.

"Cassiopeia is right," a screechy voice shrieked, and Pansy appeared right next to Draco. "You are blood traitors and Potter-lovers. You don't belong in Slytherin!"

"That's funny. I'd think the Sorting Hat knows a bit more about that than you do," Joan said coldly.

Pansy glared. She whipped out one of the old "Potter stinks" badges and pressed it. "Sunset sucks" blared in green light across the room.

"Pansy, has anyone ever told you that you are in desperate need of a hobby?" Elise said, tying off one of Joan's braids with a black hair tie and starting to braid another.

"Mudblood-torture is my hobby!" Pansy screeched, whipping out her wand.

In an instant, Joan was on her feet, her own wand pointed at Pansy. Elizabeth's wand was in her hand, and Elise and Maria were just taking theirs out. Draco snarled and took out his own.

"You're outnumbered," Joan said, in a steely tone. 

"Be a good girl and put your wand away, dearest cousin Pansy," Elizabeth said, grinning nastily.

"You're not my cousin!" Pansy snarled. "The Attisons and the Parkinsons have severed all ties!"

"And I'm sure they're all terribly sad about it," a brand-new voice said sarcastically.

"Gryffindors! What are they doing in our common room?" Pansy screeched, pointing as the portrait whole swung shut behind Marie.

"Maria gave us the password," Marie said. "Guys, we're going to the R-o-R to look up some stuff on the Unforgivables. Wanna come with? Elise, can you get your WWN? I left mine in my room."

"Yeah," Elise said. "_Accio_ WWN!" A stereo-like box drifted down the stairs and into Elise's hands.

"I'll come," Maria offered, standing up. 

"Yeah, whatever," Elizabeth said.

"Joan, you coming?" Marie said.

"Yeah." Joan pocketed her wand and walked out backwards, slowly, her eyes still on Pansy. She only turned and started walking normally when the portrait hole had been shut behind her.

"The gang's all here," Thomas said, looking up as Marie and the Slytherin girls entered.

The Room of Requirement had opened itself up to fit 40 people accordingly, filled with big, stuffed armchairs. Couples had sanctioned off to sit with each other, and groups of friends were all sitting around chairs, two of them per group having a silent battle over which would claim it as his or her own.

"Set up the WWN," Elizabeth said.

Without even thinking about it, Elise sent her WWN onto a table. Music began playing softly.

"I love that thing. It's like a Muggle CD player," Marie said, settling in next to Lynn and Emmanuela and picking a book up from the pile inside their circle, entitled Dark Arts and Those Who Use Them.

""All the best in Magic and Muggle music"," Anita quoted, grinning.

Harry hadn't really taken into consciousness what Anita had said, but more of the context with which she had been speaking. His days had been filled with depression, death, loss, and tears. And suddenly, 20plus new people had been thrust into his life, filled with smiles and laughter. It was a refreshing tonic to see some human life again.

"Nice, isn't it?" Hermione said, as though reading his mind. The two of them had been sharing a seat, Hermione sitting on the armrest. "They're all normal, these people. They're HAPPY."

"That won't last for long," Harry said, suddenly bitter. "Just wait until their families start dying. They'll be outta here like bats outta Hell…"

"Harry, the best will stick around," Hermione said. "The allies worth having will stick around. The entire wizarding world is expecting you to play Jesus. But even Jesus had his disciples."

"A good many of them abandoned him," Harry said, with a playful one-up tone. "One betrayed him."

"Well, a good few were faithful," Hermione retorted. "Anyway, history never EXACTLY repeats itself, does it?"

"No…I suppose not," Harry said, opening up the book. Hermione leaned over, her elbow resting on his shoulder, and read with him.

"Luna, can you shut the window?" Ron asked.

Luna looked up from the book she had been reading. "I like the fresh air, Ron. But you're right, I should. I don't want the Beefer Bugs getting in."

"That WHAT?"

"Beefer Bugs. Bettle-like insects that eat bits of skin if you let them."

"…Okay," Ron said slowly.

Luna got up and shut the window, and then settled back into her book.

"What are you reading?"

"Dark Arts Defeated," she answered promptly. "It's a favorite. I almost like it as much as The Quibbler."

Ron refrained from commenting, just nodding.

"I hate the Dark Arts," Luna said suddenly, while Ron was in the process of pulling a book from the shelf.

"Yeah, I do too," Ron said bitterly. "I lost two brothers because of it."

"And I; my mother."

Ron turned around, looked confused. "But Harry said your mother died in an accident."

Luna looked ready to slap herself. Her face turned bright red.

"I lied," she said slowly. "She was killed by Dark wizards. Daddy nearly went insane over it."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," Luna said.

"I guess that's why he's in the Order now, huh?" 

"…Yes, I suppose so."

Ron surveyed Luna. Had she changed over the summer, or was he just seeing things? Why did she seem just a little less crazy and a little more…pretty?

"Ron? Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring at you. Why would I stare at you? Are you cold?" he blurted out unexpectedly

"A little," Luna said.

"Why don't you go get a sweater?"

"I don't have any."

Ron thought of his own dorm, where he had accumulated 15plus year's worth of Weasley sweaters. Then he looked at Luna, and noticed how skinny and pale she actually was.

"Want one of mine?"

"One of yours?" she repeated.

"Yeah. I have a thousand, anyway. Losing one won't hurt." He pulled out his wand.

"That's a nice wand," Luna commented.

"Lime tree, 13 inches, unicorn hair," Ron said briefly. "_Accio_ sweater!"

"Mine's made from the Rowan tree. It's 12 inches and it has a unicorn hair, too."

"That's cool," Ron said, as the door cracked open slightly and a sweater, with the letter "R" and a Gryffindor lion stitched onto it, flew across the room and into his hands. The other D.A. members looked up inconspicuously at where the sweater was headed, hid smirks, and returned to their work.

"Thank you, Ron," Luna said. She unclasped her Ravenclaw robe and pulled the sweater over the shirt and tie she had on underneath. She picked up her discarded robe and hooked the clasp, though unconsciously making sure that the "R" was still showing.

Ron's face was nearly as red as his hair. "No problem, Luna."

She smiled lightly at him, and then returned to her book.

"Ooh, ooh, turn this up, I love this song." Marie squealed, as the DJ announced what the next song was. "It's a Muggle band, but they're awesome. My sisters both met them once."

Thomas leaned over and turned it up.

Today I found my soul __

I felt it die inside of me

So I turn to you

Life is like that, you know

I have your face

In a photo in High School

When you were alive

But that's all I have

And I can't remember

Who I was, myself, then

And it doesn't help

Still, I look to you as a friend

To tell me

Who we are now, who we are

It's who we are now, who we are

Where does time go now 

On a wake for young souls?

You tell me, who were are now, who we are

It's who we are now, who we are

Where does time go now

On a wake for young souls?

Like a lullaby, you sang

Oh, ooh, oh, ooh-ooh, oh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Well, the wind that blows

It's blowing colder

And the child that grows

She's growing older

And the friends we know

They'll turn a shoulder

The friends we know

They're growing colder

So, it's who we are now, who we are

It's who we are now, who we are

Where does time go now 

On a wake for young souls?

You tell me, who we are now, who we are

It's who we are now, who we are

Where does time go now

Whoa, oh, oh, on a wake for young souls?

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na

Where's my soul?

Where's my soul?

Where's my soul?

Where's my soul?

Where's my soul?

Cycle of the moon brings blood to the woman

In the blood of the woman brings birth of a child

Child grow up; keep forgetting something

Birth of a child

Comes someplace wild

Even gray days beat the shade to wean

Unbodied, unsouled, unheard, unseen

Let the gift be grown

In the time to call our own

Let the truth be sewn

Before the window's closing

Truth is natural like the window that blows

Follow the direction no matter where it goes

So it shall be

The earth and the sea

Let the truth blow like a hurricane through me

Oh, ooh, oh, ooh-ooh, oh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

If I've been cold

If I've spoken in anger

To have been bold

Forgive me

You know, I don't see your mother

Not like before

Though she hasn't forgotten

The door opened, and female voice joined the song.

__

She doesn't like to be reminded anymore," Tonks sang.

Annie got married __

It didn't come without tears

Like the day you died

I have laughter for these years

So, it's who were are now, who we are __

It's who we are now, who we are

Where does time go now 

On a wake for young souls now?

It's who were are now, who we are

It's who we are now, who we are

Whoa, oh, whoa, on a wake for young souls

All the things we know are gonna fall away from me

Like a grain of sand 

Slips through a good friend's hand

"That song never, ever fails to remind me of Sirius," Tonks said, smiling sorrowfully. "I'm just glad that Remus wasn't here to hear it. He's depressed enough as is."

The entire D.A. knew of Sirius's innocence, so no one questioned what Tonks had said.

"What's up, Professor?" Tony asked.

"It's 9 o'clock. Curfew. Even if you ARE the D.A., you have to obey school rules. Plus, you need your sleep. Tomorrow we're reviewing Patronuses and then going on to jinxes."

There was much grumbling from the D.A., but led by 7th-years Katie, Ann, Cho, Michael, Thomas, Amy, and Noah, the D.A. filed out of the Room of Requirement, Elise picking up her WWN along the way, still playing.

"Petunia, I do believe that's the 9 o'clock curfew," Snape said, as bells rang throughout the grounds. "You're still a student, so you have to go back in."

"Well, we broke rules as students, didn't we?" Petunia asked, smiling even though tears were running down her face. She was still hanging on to him.

"The Dark Lord was not waiting for us to make a wrong move then," Snape said, but he was smiling too, or at least trying to. Every time he tried to smile it turned out like a smirk or made small children run away, screaming.

She sighed. "Severus, why can't it be like it was before?"

"Because this is life. It changes. Not always for the better."

She sighed again. "I guess you're right. We just have to make the most of it while we're here, won't we?" She stepped back, wiped tears from her face, and smiled bravely. "Thanks for comforting me, Severus. I feel a bit more like the witch Petunia Evans and less like Kill-everything-magical Petunia Dursely."

She found his hand, squeezed it, and then made her way towards the ladder that led down to the 7th floor.

And he, once again, stared after her, wondering what exactly had happened to Petunia Evans when they had been apart.

I'm actually beginning to fall in love with the Petunia/Snape pairing! I love portraying their human sides.

By the way, that song is called Wake For Young Souls by Third Eye Blind, and it always reminds me of Sirius dying.


	12. Over The Course Of True Love

Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter or the D. Umb law. That's another author's creation. I don't own the Mad Hatter. I don't own either song, but I did change Blinded to make it safer for a PG rating.

Author's Note-If Bferbear thinks that I was making fun of you with "Beefer Bugs", I wasn't. I just liked the sound of the word "Beefer" and wanted to use it. Sorry for any, if any, offense you took.

Author's Note #2-This story takes place 3 weeks from last chapter. It starts on September 28th, but then it changes to October 2nd.

Author's Note #3-In case you haven't re-read the chapters, here are the list of name changes: Belle = Britney, Aaron = Patrick, Paul = Chris, and Demi = Shannon.

Over The Course of True Love

"I can see why people like fur coats."

Remus looked up from beneath thick, black eyelashes. He was curled like a dog in Tonks's office, covered in thick gray fur with a huge white streak along his stomach and black hairs here and there. One leg was chained to the wall, just in case something went wrong with the potion and he turned vicious again.

"It's really soft," Tonks continued, stroking his head. "Thank God there was a ban on werewolf-hunting for their furs. Too many people were getting themselves killed. God forbid they do something for the werewolves, though."

Remus let out a small growl, like normal dogs do when they want your attention.

"Getting too gloomy again, aren't I? I know the last thing you need right now is for me to get depressed, too." She scratched his ears. He wagged his tail.

"Remus, you are just too cute when you're a dog," Tonks laughed. "My mum used to have this one dog that she called Altair, and he would do that thing were he rolled over on his stomach and…yeah, like that!"

Remus rolled over on his back and started to twist around, trying to bite his tail. Tonks started laughing uncontrollably, and Remus rolled over on his stomach and licked her hand.

"An Auror needs her laughs, especially now," Tonks said decisively, stroking his head again. "Well, anyway, I feel like talking. The D.A.'s been working extremely hard. Nearly all of them can perfectly resist the Imperius Curse, even though the Slytherins need some work on it. Believe me, getting that many people to resist that curse in just three weeks is amazing."

He growled in agreement.

"I hate having to guess what you're saying, Remus, even if I am pretty good at it," Tonks said. "Well, here's something cool. I've got a Metamorphmagus in the D.A. That girl, Bernice Amherst. I'm so glad they all call her "Bennie". Poor girl, to have a name like that. It's like "Nymphadora". Yes, I know you think my name is elegant," she said quickly, seeing his wolfish brown eyes with their large black pupils raise, "but I think it's froofy and it sounds like a poodle. I hate poodles. I like wolves and Dobermans."

Remus's face fell. Sirius had transformed into a Doberman.

Tonks swore in self-berating. "I'm so sorry, Remus." She laid her head on his stomach and pet his back. "I miss him a lot, too, you know."

He turned his head and managed to lick her face.

She giggled and sat up straight. "All right, we'll try not to think about it."

She sighed, and started staring at the far wall. She was silent for a good five minutes, until Remus pushed his nose under her arm to get her attention.

"You have a very cold and wet nose, love," Tonks said, smiling. She scratched his nose.

He made soft whimpering sound.

"What am I thinking about? A lot of things, Remus. About how hard it is to try and keep up the morale of the wizarding world. About how well I'm training 42 teenagers to battle an evil they shouldn't even be hearing about. About how very awkward it is to be talking to my boyfriend when he's a werewolf. And that brings me to this."

Remus looked up at her, questions appearing in his head.

"Your lycanthropy has never been an issue with me. And I'm not about to let the rest of the world make it an issue for us. You fully realize, due to the Lycanthropy Protection Act, forced through by none other than our favorite Dolores Umbridge, strictly forbids any werewolf and human relations, romantic or professional, right?"

He snarled viciously. He utterly despised the D. Umb law, as he had heard other werewolves jokingly call it, as well as D. Umb herself.

"And we are involved in both respects. I'm not about to have us thrown in prison for loving each other. So, I'm going to ask you to do this, and I'm going to keep asking you to do this until you actually do it."

She shoved up her sleeve, exposing her pale forearm, and shoved it under his nose.

"Bite me."

Remus yelped and jumped back.

"I'm well aware I'll lose my job as an Auror if word gets out. I don't care. Now that the Ministry is aware of Voldemort's return, we don't need spies. And I don't need the title to do the job, do I? I'll still be the D.A.D.A teacher, too. I won't leave unless I'm sacked."

Remus snarled, shaking his head like a dog shaking water off itself.

"Remus, I've anticipated your every argument. You don't want me to feel the pain of a transformation every month. That's what the Wolfsbane Potion is for. You don't want me to face prejudice. I say forget the rest of the world. All I want is to be on the same level as you. YOU are all that matters when it comes to this. And besides, it'll be strictly Don't-ask-don't-tell, ask-and-get-blown-off."

He was still shaking his head.

"Remus, listen to me!" Tonks exploded, and he stopped moving. "I WANT you to do this. Just bite my arm, and we can get rid of this situation. I'm tried of hiding our relationship because of some stupid law that Dumbridge passed!"

Tonks swiped her wand off of the table. "Snape must have some Wolfsbane left. _Accio_ Wolfsbane Potion!"

Instantly, the cup filled with the murky brown Wolfsbane Potion. She didn't hesitate at sight of the dung-smelling muck, just splashed it down her throat.

She started coughing, and leaned over, trying to catch her breath. Chunks of brown flew out of her throat and splattered on the floor. Remus jogged to her, pushing his pointed nose underneath her face.

"That was disgusting," she said, finally catching her breath. She sat up properly. "I'll get used to it."

She pushed up her sleeve again and offered it to Remus. He backed away, looking at her apprehensively.

"Remus, I want you to do this. Please. Just bite me. It'll all be okay. You're the one who told me to stop worrying, remember? This will help me."

He edged toward her, still looking uncertain.

"Remus. Please."

He looked up at her from beneath his eyelashes.

"I'm not backing out. I love you."

He looked back at her arm. Then, slowly, he took it between his teeth and sunk his teeth, as gently as he could into her skin.

She grimaced. Being bitten was not a pleasant experience.

She began to feel sick, as if she had just taken Polyjuice Potion. She felt her back arch downwards, and watched as gray fur began to sprout on the back of her arm.

She smiled, both sorrowful and happy.

"Thank you."

"Sweater from your boyfriend?" a Ravenclaw boy snickered.

Luna had endured many such remarks for the past three and ½ weeks. Perhaps she wouldn't have, if she hadn't insisted on wearing her Weasley sweater as often as she did. She wore it nearly everyday, and the Cleaning Charm, "_Scourgify_" was often heard from her end of the dorm.

"Y'see, Luna," 6th-year Christina Park had explained, "in the Muggle world, they have these things called Varsity jackets for sports players. They have the owner's last name and their number on it. And usually the owner gives the jacket to his girlfriend."

"That's interesting," Luna said.

"Luna, what Ron did is basically the equivalent."

"…Oh." Luna had turned pink and had quickly walked away, summoning a Quibbler magazine and sinking into an armchair, ignoring everyone else as she hid behind its pages.

"It is a sweater from my friend," Luna answered, this time that same as last, and all the times before it. "I was given it because I was cold."

"Aww. An evil-fighting couple. How quaint," the boy said, and returned to snickering.

"Well, there are quite a few of them," Amy said, entering the room. She and Luna were great friends Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs generally were. "Harry and Hermione, Dean and Parvati, Seamus and Lavender, Anthony and Padma, Ginny and Colin, and, of course, Thomas and me. One more won't hurt."

"I am more likely to date a Beefer Bug than Ron," Luna said. "Not that I don't like him, of course, but we have a very slim chance at courtship."

"You two would be cute together, though," Amy said. "Oh, well. Got that hat ready for the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin game?"

"It's upstairs, and good luck to you, Amy."

"Thanks," Amy answered. Amy was a beater for the Hufflepuff team.

"Ready to go, Amy?" Thomas called from the end of the room. He had been waiting for Amy to stop talking to Luna.

"Yep!" she called back. "See ya, Luna." Amy walked off, put her hand in Thomas's, and disappeared out the portrait hole.

Luna stood in the Eagle's Nest, swaying uncertainly back and forth. The game was going to start very soon, so she had better get that hat and get to the grounds. Briefly, she wondered if Ron would be there, but she decided not, after all, he wasn't supporting either team.

"Maybe I should invite him…" she wondered out loud.

"Looney, stop standing there and go snog your boyfriend," the boy said again.

"My name is Luna Diana Lovegood, NOT Looney, and I have no boyfriend as of now," Luna said coldly. "Kindly refrain from implying otherwise."

"Or what, you'll sic your Beefer Bug on me?"

"No. Perhaps a Heliopath will do," Luna said, glaring icily. She whisked herself upstairs to collect her hat, plopped it on her hand, flounced down the stairs and out the portrait hole before anyone could say anything else regarding her or Ron.

She had just slammed the portrait hole shut when she heard her name being called.

"Yes?" she called, a little shortly.

"What's got you all hot and bothered?" Harry and Hermione were approaching.

"And you're STILL wearing Ron's sweater?" Hermione added.

"Is that a problem, Hermione Emma Granger?" Luna asked crisply.

"No, I…oh, I see. People bothering you about Ron, are they? They'll get over it. They got over Harry and I rather quickly, didn't they?" She gave Harry's hand a little squeeze.

"Well, I think you and Ginny cursing Malfoy had something to do with that," Harry said grinning.

Luna looked at the two of them. "If you don't mind my asking, just how did you two become a couple?"

"That's…that's just a bit personal, Luna," Hermione said. She and Harry had first kissed while she was recuperating in the hospital, after just blurting out that she had been adopted by her aunt and uncle and her real parents were pure-blood Death Eaters.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have asked, then. May I ask how you know that you were in love, then?"

Both of them looked a little thunderstruck. 

"It's hard to explain, Luna," Harry said. "I guess it's just something you feel in your gut. You know how with your friends, you can accept them for all their faults and like them anyway? Well, with this, you can see all their faults and not only accept them, but actually begin to like them. Take Hermione, she can be an insufferable bookworm."

"And Harry can be stubborn and self-righteous," Hermione countered.

"But that's just part of what makes her appealing," Harry finished. "When you see them, you just think about how much you want to protect them and never want to see them hurt."

"It all boils down to feelings, Luna. Some things you have to feel to know," Hermione added.

Luna looked back and forth between them. "Thank you, you two. That's been very helpful."

"…Well, this was a weird conversation," Harry said.

"Am I REALLY insufferable?" Hermione asked.

"Stupid, stupid Harry. Open mouth, insert foot." He began to step away very quickly.

"Oh no, Harry James Potter, you're not getting away with that!"

"But you called him stubborn and self-righteous," Luna said.

"The women wear the pants in almost all relationships. It's a perk," Hermione said. "Well, good luck Luna, if you're planning on doing something involving Ron…that sounded wrong. Well, anyway, listen. I'm sorry to have been such a prat about heliopaths and snorkacks and all that. I don't believe in them, but I guess you're allowed to believe in them."

"Why, thank you, Hermione. That was really nice of you."

"All right, you guys are sounding really corny right about now," Harry called from 10 feet away.

"I'll give you "corny"! You're gonna pay for calling me an insufferable bookworm!" With a small wave to Luna, Hermione ran after Harry, who had bolted.

"You seen the lovebirds anywhere?"

Luna jumped. "Ron!"

"That's me. I see you really like my sweater."

"It's the warmest thing I own."

"Just wait 'till Christmas. I'll give you the one I get then. Better yet, I'll ask Mum to make one for you."

She smiled brightly at him, and he suddenly went red again. Why was he always running his mouth off like this?

"Hey, do you want to come to the Quidditch match with me? Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin." She tapped her hait, with showed a badger stomping on a snake.

"And see Slytherin get pummeled? I would PAY to see that."

"I should like to see Draco Malfoy get hit by a Heliopath, I think," Luna said. "He asked me yesterday just how distant a relative the Mad Hatter was from me."

"How about trampled by a whole herd of those Heliopaths? I'd give all my gold to see that."

"Well, that wouldn't be very wise, would it? You'd have none left." She laughed. 

"You have a very weird laugh," Ron said. "It changes all the time."

""Capricious" is how Daddy describes it," Luna said, and then suddenly she fell quiet.

"Hey…Hey, Luna. Luna!"

"Hmm?"

"You got quiet all of a sudden."

"I was thinking of Daddy. I'm his one and only."

"That's good. In any sense you wanna take it, the world is not big enough for two Luna Lovegoods."

"I shall take that as a compliment."

"Good, 'cause otherwise, you'd've hit me."

"Why would I do that?"

"'Cause that's what girls do."

"I've never hit anyone, except with spells," Luna said proudly. "I dislike violence."

"Except when it comes to Malfoy getting hit by Heliopaths."

"Well, there is always the exception, isn't there?"

"Petunia, I'd like to see you for a moment."

"Lord, I'll never get used to hearing that again," Petunia muttered to herself.

She had been walking towards the stairs that led out to the Quidditch field, to see the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff match, when Snape had called out her. 

She turned around and made her way towards where Snape was standing in the hallway. September had closed out. 3 ½ weeks ago they had stood together on the Astronomy tower, but they hadn't seen much of each other since, except for classes.

"What is it, Severus?" she asked.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back from the throng of students running out of the building. He yanked her back towards the stairs, where there was the least likely chance of being overheard.

"Dumbledore has informed me that there is some suspicious Death Eater activity. We, apparently, have another spy that I knew nothing of among the Dark Lord's supporters. Anyway, the Death Eaters seem to be preparing for a big battle. He wants us to be prepared, in case the Dark Lord is planning a battle with us."

"Oh, Jesus, thanks for telling me," Petunia said. "I'll pass the message on to Harry."

"No, he'll be informed. You are needed at the Quidditch match to keep a lookout."

"Good, I was just heading there. What about you?"

"I'm going to Dumbledore's office to hear my instructions."

She looked, just slightly, crestfallen. "Oh, all right then. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular, Severus. No reason at all. I'll see you later."

For a moment, just a fleeting moment, he thought he saw 15-year-old Petunia Evans, about to head off to her own class. He squinted his eyes and then opened them, and was back to present-day Petunia, who was walking away.

She disappeared down a corridor and he turned to head off towards Dumbledore.

Music. It was that Elise Neptune again, blasting her WWN. Of course she wouldn't be at the match. She hated all that had to do with her Slytherin peers. 

He wondered why Filch was not out there, hollering at her to take her music to her dorm, and expected that he'd be along soon.

"I like this song, turn it up!" squealed one of her girlfriends, probably Maria Tilton.

'There. Filch will nail them now,' Snape thought, as a guitar intro began to fill the hallways.

__

Just an old friend coming over now to visit you

And that's what I've become

I let myself in, though I know I'm not supposed to 

But I never know when I'm done

And I see you fogging up the mirror

Vapor 'round your body glistens with your power

And I wanna stay right here

And watch over you for an hour

And stay

And let the day

Just fade away

In a wild dedication, take the moment of hope

And let it run

Never look back at all the damage we have done now

To each other

To each other

To each other

But when I see you

It's like I'm staring down the sun

And I'm blinded

There's nothing left to do

Still, I see you

I never believe that things: they happen for a reason

And they never go as planned

I wanted to thank you for a vision that was lost that you returned

But you're past where you understand

Now her appetite is blown

Little else is known

Except she's a little angry

Grabs a book and looks away

And heats fades with the day

And I fall down on what to say

Oh, something clean; let me be clever 

"Hey! Oh well, whatever"

But that's not what I mean

When where we've been has left us burned

Still, I won't turn now from a fight

You know I'll never win

So, when I see you

You know all the things I've done

Well, I'm blinded

Like I'm staring down the sun

When I see you

When I see you

When I see you

It's like I'm staring down the sun, yeah

(Hey, I'm blinded)

(Hey, I'm blinded)

(Hey, I'm blinded)

Time: it passes, and it tells us what we're left with

We become the things we do

Me? I'm a fool spent from defiance

Yeah, you got me

But I didn't give up on you

Icarus is not a t-shirt

Or a swan song

No, he is born again

And it's not easy being me

But I can't promise I will mend

Or bend

When you believe that we are fixed now from our birth

And I've just fallen back to Earth

Still, you know I'll try again

'Cause I believe that we are lucky

We are golden

We have stolen

Manners in the days that we were one

So, when I see you

In spite of all that we've become

I'm still blinded

But I'm still staring down the sun

When I see you

When I see you

When I see you

When I see you

(Oh, yeah)

I'm still staring down the sun

(Oh, yeah)

I'm still staring down the sun

(Oh, yeah)

I'm still staring down the sun

(I'm blinded)

When I see you

When I see you

When I see you

"Severus? Good, good, I was just about to find you."

"And I was on my way to you, Albus," Snape said.

"That Elise Neptune…her WWN certainly has a knack for picking the right song at the right moment. I must get one of my own."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Severus, don't play the fool with me. It has been obvious to everyone who cares to look that you still have feelings for Petunia."

"With the utmost respect, Albus, that's absurd."

"You may deny it as long as you like. I don't advise putting it off. You will never know if she understood when it's too late to ask her."

Snape watched as Dumbledore's eyes misted over. He had been strange like this ever since St. Mungo's. Most of the Order still had no idea about the "Socks" comment. In fact, only Harry was privy to the secret of Oleta.

"All right, Severus, have it your way. You wish to have your assignment, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"You will guard the Quidditch field. You will tell Madam Hooch to make an announcement regarding this possible threat. And then you will stay there. Half of our student body has assembled there, and we need people to look after them."

"And you, sir?"

"I shall be looking after the other half who remains inside, as well as presiding over Belle Granger and the Veritaserum in the making."

"I'll be on my way, then." Snape said with a nod, and turned to walk off.

"Severus."

"Yes?"

"Mind what I said before. If you still care about her, don't put off letting her know."

Snap abstained from answering, and continued to walk off.

Dumbledore sighed and began to walk down towards the dungeons. He needed to check on Granger.

"Nasty brats, disturbing my hallways, I'll have them…"

"Argus, there's no need to reprimand them," Albus said, as Filch walked past. "There are no classes today, and half the student body is outside. Why not just let them enjoy their music?"

"Yes sir, yes sir," Filch mumbled, stumping off, followed haughtily by Mrs. Norris, shaking her tail as if students playing music in the hallway was the worst crime imaginable.

"Good, good," Dumbledore said, as another musical intro began to fill the corridors. __

Moving Oleta

Was the hardest thing he'd done

The nurses saw an old woman crying

But he saw the love of his life

She don't know where she is

But she knows this isn't home

Love is a hard, hard road

He met her in the summer of '37

In a brush arbor down by the Rush Creek shore

He loved her black hair and the mischief in her smile

But she won him with her eyes

All the years and children gone, he still sees her the same

Love is a hard, hard road

He woke up each morning and drove into town

He stayed all day 'till her dinner came

Then he took her to her room

Leaned on her wheel chair like a walker

Covered her with a quilt that she'd made

Only God and a couple of nurses

Help the old man shoulder the load

Love is a hard, hard road

He said, "They tell me this is all that's left

Say this Hell on Earth is best

I list all those reasons but I still

Don't understand it"

He cursed his body, old and weak

Tears of failure burned his cheeks

He said, "Oh, don't you know I prayed to die

Before this day?"

Love is a hard, hard road

There's a shadow much darker than the Valley of Death

When you fear the Reaper might not come today

They line them up in Laz-e-boys out in the sun room

The TV keeps the quiet away

She can't recall his name, and she's the only love he's known

Love is a hard, hard, road

Love is a hard, hard road

Moving Oleta

Was the hardest thing he'd done 

Yes, he decided, the WWN did have a knack for picking the right song to suit your emotions.

"Hermione, sitting right there really isn't going to do anything."

"As I've said for the past 2 weeks, Harry, I don't care. This is the ideal spot to do my weekend homework while doing my part to guard a Death Eater. You don't have to stay with me if you think it's useless."

Hermione was propped up against the banister of the stairs leading down to the dungeons, her Advanced Placement Transfiguration book lying open on her knees. Harry was leaning against the opposing wall, arms folded and one leg bent so his foot rested on the wall.

"What, and leave you alone here? You'd snap and try to kill her again."

"You're right, I would."

Harry studied her for a long minute. She tried to ignore him, and managed to read and absorb 10 pages worth of knowledge, before she sighed, shut the book, and looked up.

"Is there something on my face?"

"No."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"This fixation you have about killing your mother. I wouldn't have thought you would be so intent on a murder, even if it was a Death Eater."

Hermione sighed, and set the book down. "Harry, do you remember seeing Pettigrew escape?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember watching Bellatrix Lestrange kill Sirius?"

"That's one image I will never get out of my mind."

"Do you remember all the hatred you felt towards them? And do you feel it now?"

"Of course I do."

"That is exactly how I feel about Aaron and Belle. Harry, I am their CHILD. As much as I hate it, I am their flesh and blood. Parents are supposed to love their child, protect it, cherish it above all others. But they didn't do that. Their care entailed the minimum requirements it takes to keep a baby alive. Then they were off again, killing more people. My aunt and uncle took care of me far better than they ever did, even though they had been estranged."

Tears were in her eyes now. "They loved me, protected me, and cherished me above all else. They died trying to save me. And then, Belle, my birth mother, tried to kill me. Because I wasn't going to join Voldemort, she tried to kill me. A person like that does not deserve to live, Harry. The use of an Unforgivable is accepted in this case."

"Yes, but it's still an Unforgivable. You're still causing someone pain or death." Harry had been struggling with himself with this very question ever since June, when he had attempted he Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix.

"And that's why I voted as to not knowing whether or not we should use them back in September, remember?" She wiped her eyes. "Harry, I hate who I become when I use an Unforgivable. But I love the world without people like her in it even better. She's not going to reform on her own, or with help. She's going to remain a murderess. And when evil can't reform itself, it must be destroyed." She looked up at him. "That's what I truly believe, Harry. It's what we're all going to have to believe if we're going to pull through with our sanity."

Harry went over to her and put his arm around her. "I guess you're right, Hermione. But then, you usually are."

Hermione sniffled and gave him a little push. "Now, let's have a different subject. What about Luna earlier, eh?"

"I'll bet you two Galleons she tells Ron she fancies him within the month."

"Harry! We shouldn't bet on our friend."

"Yeah, you're right," Harry said, faking shame.

"At least, not that pitiful of an amount!" she tagged on.

Harry squeezed her around the shoulder and ruffled her hair. "You're just a bit devious, aren't you?"

"Just the tiniest bit, yes," she answered.

"Ah, I see I'm not needed to guard Mrs. Granger. You two have been doing it for me."

"Oh, hello, Professor," Hermione said as Dumbledore approached. Harry nodded his greeting and waved.

"Why are you not out in the Quidditch stands? I would imagine that's where your friend Ron Weasley is."

"I think he and Luna have it covered," Harry said, shooting a grin at Hermione.

"Ah, yes. Well, I'm afraid I must give you a warning. We have received an anonymous tip of some suspicious Death Eater activity. We fear they might be planning to attack the school."

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth.

"We're not sure. It might be someone's idea of a joke. But all the same, you should be on your guard. I was going to make sure she was still imprisoned, but I see you have it covered."

"What should we do, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Stay where you are for now. If anything happens, you will know."

Hermione took a deep breath. "All right. We'll be here…for now."

"Of course. It would be a fool's errand to tell you to stay here if there is an attack. I will be patrolling the halls if you need me."

"All right. That's good," Harry said.

"Good-bye now."

"'Bye, Professor," Harry and Hermione chorused. Dumbledore walked away.

"Jeez," Hermione pushed her face through her hands, pulling her hair back. "Why are we never the antagonist?"

"What?"

"Why do we never attack first?"

"Well, my guess is that we don't know where they are, but they very much know where we are. And we lost our spy. This anonymous tip guy is a blessing."

"I wanna know who this "anonymous tip" guy is."

"You can't, Hermione, see, that's part of being anonymous."

"Shut up. You're a prat."

"You love me anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." But she was grinning.

"Lynn, where're you headed?"

"Nowhere," Lynn said hurriedly, trying to walk away from Marie as fast as she could. They were both in the Lion's Den, Marie on the couch, Lynn walking towards the portrait hole.

"Y'know, you don't need my permission to like him," Marie said, sounding a little put-off. "You're entitled to your feelings even if I think he's a sleazy scumbag. Just get to the Quidditch field and cheer for him until you're blue in the face; no one's stopping you."

Lynn relaxed. "Thanks."

"No prob," Marie answered, as her cat, Beth, jumped into her lap and began licking her arm. "And while you're there, say "Hi" to Amy, Thomas, Linda and Livia for me, would'ja?"

"Sure."

Lynn swung open the Fat Lady's portrait and stepped out.

She honestly didn't know why she had a thing for Draco Malfoy. Perhaps it had started on the Hogwarts Express in 1st year, when she had dropped her book and he had handed it back to her. Given, he was muttering something about "clutzy idiots", but the fact remained that he had shown he had at least a minuscule considerate side. 

And no matter what Ann said, she thought he was good-looking.

It was especially weird being a Gryffindor who had a crush on a Slytherin. But Gryffindors were known for their bravery, weren't they? She would show her feelings for the world to see.

And hopefully, she'd get the desired reaction from Draco Malfoy.

"Severus! What are you doing here?" Petunia called over the shouting of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin fans.

"I'm to stand guard with you," Snape answered.

"That's good. I haven't see anything amiss so far."

"Don't let down your guard," Snape advised darkly.

"Mm." Petunia turned and squinted into the distance.

Snape stared at the back of her head, and imagine the long mane of thick hair she'd once had.

He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. Why was he always seeing her as the girl he'd been in love with, instead of the widow who was working with him to take down Voldemort? 

Dumbledore's voice flashed in his mind. "_If you still care about her, don't put off letting her know_." Did he really still care about her? Had 27 years not taken away his love, but only buried it?

It wasn't like he'd had much experience with love. God knows his own parents, Hadar and Pearla, had experienced severe marital problems until their messy divorce in his 7th year. He'd never had a girlfriend before or after Petunia, and he felt no love for his students, barring certain Slytherins.

'Are you afraid?' a nasty voice mocked in his head.

'I'm not afraid,' another voice shot back. 

'Then stop being a prat and tell her that you can't stop thinking about her.'

"Severus, are you okay?" Petunia asked, turning around. "You've been quiet."

"As a matter of fact, there is something that's been on my mind," he said, in a very low tone. He felt blood racing through his veins. "I've been thinking of this since August, when we met again. I've found it impossible to stop thinking about how we were in our fifth year."

"Severus, what are you saying?" Petunia asked. Her hands had begun to shake slightly and there was a tugging at her mouth.

"I'm saying, Petunia, that I'm still in love with you."

There. He'd said it. And it felt good to say it. All he had to do now was wait for a sign that it had registered. A kiss, a slap, tears, whatever she was going to throw his way would be her answer.

Petunia was completely shell-shocked. She hadn't been expecting a declaration that her old boyfriend was still interested in her.

Or had she? It was true that she felt a sense of familiarity when she was with him. Despite their unfortunate parting, he reminded her of better days. Even in his role as the aloof, calculating teacher and spy, he made her feel comforted. She warmed when he was near her.

"Severus, I…what the?"

Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What is it?"

"Oh, my God."

A shaking finger pointed beyond Snape's head. He whipped around and squinted into the distance.

Black dots were appearing in the sky, flying at an alarming rate towards the stands. He could barely see the outlines of black robes flapping in the wind.

He swore so badly and so loudly the other teachers in the box turned to stare at him.

"Severus, I hardly think…" McGonagall started.

"Death Eaters," he said in a steely tone. "Coming this way."

There was an absolute silence…before the panic set in.

McGonagall ripped the Magical Megaphone from the commentator's mouth.

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS. PROCEED TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS RIGHT NOW. DO NOT SLOW OR STOP FOR ANYTHING. THE SCHOOL IS UNDER ATTACK. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


End file.
